LINCOLN  ROOM 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 
LIBRARY 


MEMORIAL 

the  Class  of  1901 

founded  by 

HARLAN  HOYT  HORNER 

and 

HENRIETTA  CALHOUN  HORNER 


LIFE 


THE  RIGHT  REVEREND 


John  Baeeett  Keefoot 

D.  D.,  LL.  D. 

FIRST  BISPIOP  OF  PITTSBURGH 


WITH  SELECTIONS  FROM  HIS  DIARIES  AND 
CORRESPONDENCE 


By  hall  HARRISON,  M.  A. 

Hector  of  St,  John'' a  Church,  Howard  County,  Md. 


Vol.  I.     1816-1864 


New  York 

JAMES  POTT  &  CO. 

1886 


Copyright,  1886, 
By  HALL  HARRISON. 


Press,  Lith  and  Bind,  of 
Uaac  Fricdcnwald,  Baltimora. 


PREFACE. 


In  the  work  now  presented  to  the  public,  which  has 
been  a  continuous  but  far  from  uncongenial  labor  for 
the  past  two  years,  I  have  tried  to  let  Bishop  Kerfoot 
describe  himself  by  his  own  diaries  and  letters.  Con- 
siderable use  has  also  been  made  of  the  letters  of  his 
two  friends,  Dr.  Muhlenberg  and  Bishop  Whittingham, 
partly  because  of  the  interest  which  is  so  generally 
felt  in  these  two  remarkable  men,  and  partly  because 
letters  to  a  man,  no  less  than  letters  from  him,  shed 
light  in  an  interesting  and  delicate  way  upon  traits  of 
character,  and  help  ,to  show  the  impression  which  he 
has  made  upon  his  contemporaries. 

In  using  the  large  mass  of  material  placed  unre- 
servedly at  my  disposal,  I  have  endeavored  to  put  out 
of  sight,  as  far  as  possible,  my  own  personal  agreement 
or  disagreement  with  the  sentiments  expressed,  cover- 
ing as  they  do  such  a  variety  of  topics,  social,  political 
and  theological.  I  have  considered  that  the  individual 
opinions  of  the  biographer  were  of  no  consequence  or 
interest  to  the  public,  and  should  not  be  needlessly 
obtruded  upon  the  reader.     At  the  same  time,  I  have 


IV  PREFACE. 

not  thought  it  necessary  or  advisable  to  try  to  write  a 
colorless  record  of  bare  facts,  or  to  conceal  my  opinions 
when  the  expression  of  them  seemed  natural  and 
unobjectionable.  The  attempt  to  write  with  colorless 
impartiality  is  apt  to  be  as  unsuccessful  as  it  usually 
is  insipid.  The  questions  which  I  have  kept  before 
me  have  been,  whether  a  sentiment  expressed  in  a 
letter,  or  in  a  passage  in  a  diary,  is  really  characteristic 
of  the  writer,  and  is,  furthermore,  of  sufficient  general 
interest  and  importance  to  justify  its  insertion.  But 
even  in  carrying  out  this  rule  I  cannot  hope  to  have 
avoided  errors,  and  must  ask  the  indulgence  of  the 
candid  reader — an  indulgence  which  will  be  readily 
granted  by  those  who  are  able  to  appreciate  the 
difficult  and  delicate  questions  which  sometimes  arise 
in  works  of  this  character. 

I  desire  to  express  my  indebtedness  to  the  family  of 
Bishop  Kerfoot  for  invaluable  aid  in  copying  and 
arranging  much  of  the  bishop's  voluminous  corre- 
spondence and  diaries.  Without  that  assistance  the 
work  would  have  been  delayed  much  longer  than  it 
has  been.  It  is  proper  to  add  that  for  the  use  of  all 
this  material — both  for  what  is  inserted  and  for  what 
has  been  omitted — the  responsibility  must  lie,  where 
it  properly  belongs,  solely  upon  the  author  of  the 
work. 

To  the  friends  of  the  bishop,  both  in  and  out  of 
Pittsburgh,  who  have  so  generously  aided  in  defraying 


PREFACE.  V 

a  part  of  the  expense  of  this  publication,  my  sincere 
thanks  are  due,  as  well  as  to  the  Rev.  J.  P.  Norman, 
M.  D.,  for  aid  in  copying  letters  and  for  other  useful 
assistance. 

To  my  friend  and  former  colleague,  the  Eev,  Joseph 
Howland  Coit,  of  St.  Paul's  School — Bishop  Kerfoot's 
trusted  friend  and  associate  for  so  many  years  at  St. 
James's — who  has  laid  me  under  deep  obligations  by 
contributing  what  many  readers  will  justly  regard  as 
the  most  interesting  and  valuable  chapter  of  the  work, 
I  beg  to  record  my  grateful  acknowledgments. 

I  wish  also  to  acknowledge  the  courtesy  and  kind- 
ness of  the  venerable  Presiding  Bishop  in  sending  me 
several  interesting  letters  in  regard  to  the  Reform 
Movement  in  Mexico,  as  well  as  for  his  own  valuable 
letter  on   the  subject,  which  will  be  found  in  the 

twenty-third  chapter. 

Hall  Hakrison. 

St.  John's  Rectory, 

Ellicott  City,  Maryland,  May,  1886. 


CONTENTS  OF  VOLUME  I. 


CHAPTER  I. 

PAGE 

Eakly  Life  and  Education.    Ordination  to  the  Diaconate, 

1816-1837.    Aetat.  1-31 1 


CHAPTER  II. 
College  Point.    Maryland,  1833-1843.    Aetat.  31-36        .       .      31 

CHAPTER  III. 
Opening  of  St.  James's  Hall,  Etc.,  1843-1843.    Aetat.  36-37     .      44 

CHAPTER  IV. 
Visit  to  England,  1843.    Aetat.  37 .64 

CHAPTER  V. 
Return  Home.    Life  at  St.  James's,  1843-1850.    Aetat.  37-34.      96 

CHAPTER  VI. 
Muhlenberg,  Whittingham  and  Kerfoot. 

PAiiT  I. — Letters  from  Br.  Iluhlenherg 131 

Part  II. — Correnpondence  with  Bishop  Whiitinfjham        .        .        .     155 

CHAPTER  VII. 
The  Burning  of  Kemp  Hall,  1857 180 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
Breaking  Out  of  the  Civil  War,  1860-1861.    Aetat.  44-45       .    188 


CONTENTS  OF  VOLUME  1.  Vll 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Second   Year    of    the  War.    Battle    of    Antietam,    1863. 

Aetat.  46 233 


CHAPTER  X. 

The  Third  Year  of  the  War.    The  Retreat  from  Gettys- 
burg, 1863.    Aetat.  47 253 

CHAPTER  XI. 

Last  Year  of  St.  James's.    Dr.  Kerfoot  Taken  Prisoner, 

1863-1864.    Aetat.  47-48 370 

APPENDIX  TO  CHAPTER  XI. 

Account  op  Dr.  Kerfoot's  Arrest,  by  His  Fellow-Prisoner, 

Rev.  Joseph  H.  Coit,  M.  A 303 

CHAPTER  XII. 

(By  Rev.  Joseph  H.  Coit,  M.  A.,  of  St.  Paul's  School.) 

Part  I. — Recollections  of   Bishop  KerfooCs  Life  and    Work   at 

St.  Jameii'ii 319 

Part  II. — Recollections,  etc.,  continued 344 


ILLUSTRATIONS  IN  VOLUME  I. 


1.  Bisnop  Kerfoot  in  1873,  aetat.  57.— Frontispiece. 

2.  Addkess  to  La  Fayette. — Facsimile.    To  face  p.  4. 

3.  John  B.  Kerfoot,  aetat.  24. — To  face  p.  27. 

4.  College  of  St.  James,  Fountain  Rock,  Md. — To  face  p.  45. 

5.  A  Page  of  Dr.  Muulenberg's  "Farewell  to  Kerfoot."— Fac- 

simile.   To  face  p.  54. 

6.  College  of  St.  James,  Baltimore  Co.,  Md.— To  face  p.  232. 

7.  Bishop  "WuiTTiNGHAM  to  President  Lincoln.— Facsimile.     To 

face  p.  299. 


ERRATA. 


p.  26, 1.  18,  for  leaving  read  leaning. 

P.  62,  1.  19,  for  Mr.  read  Mrs. 

P.  70,  1.  18,  for  five  read  fine. 

P.  73,  1.  29,  for  Henry  VII  read  Henry  VIII. 

P.  131,  note, /or  nephew  by  marriage  read  brotber-in-law. 

P.  168,  1.  22,  for  said  read  laid. 

P.  311,  1.  16,  for  our  read  your. 

P.  337,  1.  1,  for  sufficient  read  insuflicient. 


Life  of  Bishop  Kerfoot. 


CHAPTER  I. 

EARLY  LIFE  AND  EDUCATION.      ORDINATION  TO  THE 
DIACONATE. 

1816-1837.    Aetat.  1-21. 

John  Barrett  Kerfoot,  Rector  of  the  College  of 
St.  James  in  Maryland,  and  afterwards  First  Bishop 
of  Pittsburgh,  was  born  on  the  1st  of  March,  1816,  in 
the  city  of  Dublin,  and  was  baptized  in  private  by  a 
Presbyterian  Minister,  His  parents  were  Richard 
Kerfoot,  of  Castle  Monegan,  Ireland,  and  Christiana 
Barrett,  daughter  of  George  Barrett,  of  Armagh. 
They  were  Scotch-Irish  by  descent,  brought  up  in  the 
Church,  but  afterwards  connected  with  the  Wesleyans. 

Richard  Kerfoot  settled  with  his  wife  in  Dublin,  but 
in  1818,  two  years  after  the  birth  of  John,  their  third 
son,  he  removed  to  this  country,  making  his  residence 
in  the  town  of  Lancaster,  Pennsylvania.  His  family, 
consisting  of  his  wife  and  four  children,  followed  him 
to  America  in  1819.  He  was  at  first  successful  in 
business,  but  afterwards  lost  a  considerable  sum  of 
money  from  endorsing  notes  for  his  friends — a  practice 
which  even  the  well-known  warning  of  Solomon^  has 

'  Fioverbs  xi.  15. 


2 


LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.        [Chap.  1. 


Dr.  Muhlen- 
berg. 


never  yet  taught  kind-hearted  men  to  avoid.  He  died 
of  inflammatory  fever  in  1825.  His  son  John  used  to 
say  that  he  distinctly  remembered  his  father's  taking 
him,  then  nine  years  old,  in  his  arms  as  he  lay  in  bed, 
blessing  him  and  giving  him  his  dying  counsels. 
These  vs^ere  the  simple,  old-fashioned  ones,  "to  be  a 
good  boy,  to  say  his  prayers  regularly,  to  read  his 
Bible,  and  to  obey  and  take  care  of  his  another.'''' 
The  eldest  son  was  then  a  student  of  medicine,  and 
graduated  in  Philadelphia  in  1830;  the  younger  sons 
went  to  school  in  Lancaster.  The  children  loved  and 
reverenced  their  mother,  who  lived  respected  and 
honored  to  a  good  old  age,  dying  in  Dayton,  Ohio,  at 
the  home  of  her  daughter,  Mrs.  Lewis,^  in  the  summer 
of  1858.2 

Among  the  influences  for  good  in  his  life  which 
Kerfoot  ever  valued  most,  was  his  friendship  with  the 
Rev.  William  Augustus  Muhlenberg.  This  well- 
known  man,  unequalled  in  some  respects  as  an 
educator  of  youth,  and  never  to  be  forgotten  while 
the  Church  of  the  Holy  Communion,  St.  Luke's 
Hospital,  and  "St.  Johnland"  last,  came  to  Lancaster 
in  1820,  and  opened  a  Church  Sunday-School.  This 
Sunday-School  young  Kerfoot  had  the  good  fortune 
to  attend  when  a  lad  of  six  years  old.  Mr.  Muhlenberg's 
benevolent  eye  (aided  by  his  intuitive  reading  of 
character)  at  once  singled  out  the  promising  child,  and 


•  Mother  of  the  Rev.  John  Ker- 
foot Lewis,  Chaplain  in  the  U.S.N. 

"  In  a  letter  written  in  1844,  from 
Ireland  to  his  wife  by  the  Rev.  J. 
B.  Kerfoot,  mention  is  made  of  a 
visit  to  the  home  of  his  mother: 
"I  went  to  see  my  uncles  near 


Armagh,  my  mother's  relatives  on 
her  mother's  side.  The  Cum- 
mingses  are  among  the  oldest 
gentry  in  the  North  of  Ireland, 
and  the  Barretts  were  large  land- 
holders near  Armagh." 


1825.]  EARLY  LIFE  AND  EDUCATION. 


won  his  affection  by  the  kind  interest  and  tenderness 
he  displayed  towards  him.  Their  relations  can  be 
best  described  by  an  expression  used  by  or  of  Kerfoot, 
that  "  he  became  devotedly  in  love  with  Dr.  Muhlen- 
berg from  the  very  first."  Unlike  many  "first  loves," 
this  did  not  change.  No  one  ever  took  Dr.  Muhlen- 
berg's place,  warm  and  devoted  as  were  several  of 
Kerfoot's  subsequent  friendships.  The  attachment 
deepened  at  Flushing  and  College  Point ;  it  grew 
with  time,  and  was  never  interrupted  until  the  pupil, 
then  Bishop  of  Pittsburgh,  gave  him  his  last  earthly 
Communion,  and  laid  to  rest  in  St.  Johnland  the 
mortal  remains  of  his  venerable  and  noble-hearted 
master  and  school -father.^ 

The  boy's  earliest  secular  education  was  begun  at  a  visit  or 
school  in  Lancaster,  under  the  so-called  "  Lancastrian"  "  "^^  *' 
or  Monitorial  system,  conducted  by  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Varian.  In  the  year  1825  the  Marquis  Lafayette, 
while  making  his  famous  tour  through  the  United 
States,  paid  a  visit  to  this  school,  and  Kerfoot,  then  a 
boy  of  nine  years  old,  was  selected,  doubtless  on 
account  of  his  precocity  and  handsome  appearance,  to 
deliver  a  short  address  of  welcome  to  the  distin- 
guished visitor.  Mr.  Muhlenberg  placed  the  little 
fellow  on  a  large  table,  under  a  sort  of  canopy  of 
green  boughs  and  oak  leaves,  and  stood  beside  him  to 
encourage  him.  Then,  in  the  presence  of  a  large 
company,  the  future  educator  and  bishop  addressed  to 
Lafayette  the  following  words  of  welcome  and  sage 
counsel : 

'  See  the  toucbiug  accouut  of   I    Life  and    Work  by  Miss  Ayres, 
Dr.   Mubleuberg's  I'uuerul  iu  his    |    pp.  506-513. 


4  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.  [Chap.  I. 

Getieral, — We  are  bappy  to  welcome  you  vvithiu  tlie  walls 
of  our  school.  We  hope  that  you  will  always  recommeud 
learning,  and  that  3'^ou  will  always  cherish  such  valuable 
institutions  as  this.  Remember  that  schools  are  of  great 
importance  to  a  free  people,  and  that  education  is  the  best 
security  for  Virtue,  Liberty  and  Independence. 

We  thank  you  for  your  kindness  in  coming  from  your 
native  country,  France,  to  help  us  in  getting  the  Liberty  we 
now  enjoy.  We  wish  you  Health,  Honour  and  Prosperity  as 
long  as  you  live  in  this  world,  and  in  the  world  to  come  eternal 
Happiness  ;  and  if  it  is  your  intention  to  return  to  France,  we 
wish  you  a  safe  and  pleasant  voyage.' 

Flushing.  Dr.  Muhlenbcrg  left  Lancaster  and  went  to  Flusbinoj, 
on  Long  Island,  in  the  year  1826,  and  two  years  after- 
wards opened  the  well-known  "Flushing  Institute," 
which  soon  made  him  celebrated  among  churchmen. 
By  the  kindness  of  a  dear  and  generous  friend,  Miss 
Yeates,  of  Lancaster,  Kerfoot  was  enabled  to  go  to 
Flushing,  and  thus  he  found  himself,  to  his  great 
delight,  again  under  the  care  and  instruction  of  his 
old  Sunday-School  teacher. 

His  goal  had  always  been  the  holy  ministry,  and  the 
extracts  that  follow  from  his  early  diaries  and  letters 
will  show  plainly  the  bent  of  the  boy's  mind,  and 
the  training  to  which  he  was  subjected.  lie  was 
influenced  not  only  by  Dr.  Muhlenberg's  character 
and  his  intense  personality,  but  also  by  the  genius 
loci.  There  was  a  sort  of  atmosphere  pervading 
Flushing  and  College  Point  (and  the  same  may 
be  said  of  their  successors,  St.  James's  College  and 
St.   Paul's  School,  in  New  Hampshire),  which,  if 

•  Tiie  original  MS.  ul  this  address  is  still  extaut  in  the  uuformedhand 
ot  a  boy  of  nine  years  old. 


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*y— 


1830.]  EARL  Y  LIFE  AND  ED UCA  TION. 


did  now  and  then  repel  a  few,  attracted  many  of 
the  better  natures,  and  created  an  impression  for  good 
which,  in  after  years,  they  never  failed  to  acknowledge 
and  be  grateful  for. 

As  would  be  expected  by  all  who  knew  Dr.  Muhl- 
enberg at  that  stage  of  his  interesting  and  varying 
career,  Kerfoot's  youthful  piety  was,  at  first,  some- 
what of  the  "Evangelical"  type.  His  boyish  diary  is 
somewhat  introspective,  and  the  emotions  and  reli- 
gions impressions  of  the  moment,  his  struggles  and 
failures,  his  aspirations  and  disappointments,  his 
unceasing  efforts  to  do  good  to  his  companions  and  to 
the  pupils  under  his  charge,  are  recorded  when,  before 
retiring  at  night,  he  took  up  his  pen  and  opened  his 
daily  journal.  Dr.  Muhlenberg  kept  such  diaries  him- 
self, and  seems  to  have  encouraged  the  practice  among 
his  favorite  pupils.  Moreover,  Sargent's  well-known 
Memoir  of  Henry  Martyn  was  one  of  the  popular 
religious  books  of  the  day,  and  the  style  of  its  diaries 
as  well  as  the  devoted  piety  of  their  writer  doubtless 
exerted  considerable  influence.  Kerfoot,  whose  habits 
were  remarkably  business-like  and  methodical,  con- 
tinued to  keep  a  diary  all  his  life.  But,  as  he  grew  to 
manhood,  and  the  demands  of  his  profession  and  work 
increased,  his  records  assumed  more  and  more  the 
character  of  a  very  terse  summary  of  actual  facts  and 
important  occurrences — brief  notes  of  interviews  held, 
of  letters  written,  and  of  the  various  business  of  the 
day.  In  fact,  after  he  went  to  Maryland,  as  Rector 
of  St.  James's  College,  his  hurried  jottings — very 
condensed  in  expression — bear  a  close  resemblance 
to  those  recently  published  in  the  Life  of  Bishop 
Samuel  Wilberforce  of  Oxford  and  Winchester. 


6  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.  [Chap.  I. 

In  one  respect  indeed  these  youthful  effusions 
possess  a  particular  interest.  Not  only  do  they  show 
the  developuient  of  the  boy's  mind,  but  they  give  an 
insight — perhaps  clearer  than  anything  yet  published 
— into  the  school-life  at  Flushing  and  College  Point, 
and  the  peculiar  religious  influence  which  Dr.  Muhl- 
enberg succeeded  in  exerting. 
Ketfoot'f  The  daily  life  at  those  institutions  (comparing  it 
With  what  has  been  published  of  Eton,  Rugby,  and 
othei'  great  English  public  schools)  seems  to  have 
been  wholesome  and  happy,  homelike  to  a  great 
degree,  but  remarkably  free  from  any  exciting  inci- 
dents. The  faggings,  floggings, "  tundings,"  rebellions 
more  or  less  successful,  "  barrings  out,"  etc.,  and  the 
various  escapades  that  we  are  in  the  habit  of  associ- 
ating with  school-life,  seem  conspicuous  by  absence  in 
Dr.  Muhlenberg's  system.  As  to  Kerfoot's  own  boy- 
hood, we  know  from  the  testimony  of  his  schoolmate, 
Bishop  Bedell,  as  well  as  from  Dr.  Muhlenberg's 
letters,  that  it  was  remarkably  pure  and  good, — un- 
usually uniform  in  industry  and  integrity.  Conscien- 
tiousness and  truthfulness  were  marked  characteristics 
of  his  earliest  years.  The  truth  was  that  the  realities 
of  life  pressed  with  severity  rather  soon  upon  the 
impressionable  boy,  fresh  from  a  home  where  religion 
and  love  had  prevailed.  His  father  had  died  when 
he  was  but  nine  years  old,  leaving  his  family  in 
narrow  circumstances,  and  his  dying  charge  was  still 
fresh  in  his  son's  memory.  Having  the  unexpected 
and  much-prized  advantage  of  being  sent  to  Flushing 
to  "  get  his  education  "  and  make  his  own  way  in  the 
world,  he  could  not  throw  away  these  opportunities. 


1830.]  EARLY  LIFE  AND  EDUCATION.  7 

Having  had  "  put  into  his  hand  a  price  to  get  wis- 
dom,"  he  could  not,  like  a  "  fool  who  had  no  heart  to 
it,"  misuse  the  chance  that  was  offered  him.' 

Moreover,  Dr.  Muhlenberg  fascinated  him  by  the 
elevation  of  his  sentiments,  by  the  strictness  of  his  reli- 
gious life,  and  by  the  marked  confidence  he  reposed  in 
his  pupil.  If  his  friend  and  master  expected  so  much 
from  him,  how  could  he  disappoint  him?  Earnestness 
and  faithfulness,  therefore,  characterized  him  from 
the  first,  both  as  a  schoolboy,  and  as  prefect  and 
instructor,  positions  to  which  he  was  rapidly  pro- 
moted. From  the  early  age  of  sixteen  he  relieved 
his  mother  of  the  burden  of  supporting  him,  and  soon 
had  at  school  with  him  his  younger  brother,  to  whom 
he  ever  acted  a  father's  part.  Such  unusual  responsi- 
bilities interfere  with  the  ordinary  carelessness — 
though  not  necessarily  with  the  happiness  of  child- 
hood, and  it  is  not  surprising  that  a  tone  of  seriousness 
should  be  found  in  many  passages  of  his  diary.  But 
all  this  never  seemed  to  take  from  him  his  keen  sense 
of  humor,  nor  his  delightful  joyousness  of  disposition  ; 
he  loved  fun,  and  in  a  good-natured  way  liked  to  tease 
and  play  jokes  upon  his  friends.  The  cheerfulness 
that  was  so  marked  a  characteristic  of  the  man  must 
have  been  a  prominent  trait  in  the  boy. 

As  early  as  his  14th  year,  in  an  entry  made  Feb. 
24:th,  1830,  he  records  his  grateful  feelings  for  the 
blessing  of  being  at  Flushing  under  Dr.  Muhlenberg's 
care,  and  then  adds : 

Reviewing  all  the  dispensations  of  God's  Providence,  I  see 
that  He  has  undoubtedly  intended  me  for  His  service  in  a 

•  Prov.  xvii.  16 — a  text  from  flue  serraou  ou  Education,  in  the 
which  Kerfoot  once  preached  a    1    Chapel  of  St.  James's. 


8  LIFE  OE  BISHOP  KERFOOT.  [Chap.  I. 

peculiar  manner.  Ii  is  His  will,  and  I  praj'  that  I  shall 
always  make  His  will  mine. 

March,  1830.  .  .  .  M}'  dear  Mr.  Muhlenberg  spoke  to  me 
last  evening  ;  asked  me  what  was  my  besetting  sin.  I  did 
not  know  any  particular.  He  said  it  was  on  account  of  my 
self-ignorance.  Alas,  it  is  too  true  !  I  desire  self-knowledge, 
and  pray  God  to  give  it  me.  This  morning  I  was  No.  1  in  my 
classes ;  would  wish  to  keep  so,  but  fear  I  am  not  diligent 
enough.  I  ought  to  be,  surely.  May  God  help  me !  Don't 
keep  good  order  in  the  stud}-,  play  too  much  with  my  neigh- 
bors ;  but  it  is  my  fault,  for  I  begin  generally. 

Had  a  better  meeting  last  night  at  the  '*  Association  "  than 
for  some  time  before.  After  silent  prayer,  we  all  joined  hands 
together  and  made  a  resolution  each  to  take  under  our  eyes 
some  of  the  boys,  especially  the  younger  ones,  to  advise  them 
and  benefit  them. 

Received  a  letter  from  Mr.  Bowman  this  evening ;  all  well 
there  and  at  home. 

Letter  from  The  Rev.  Samuel  Bowman^  to  John  B.  Kerfoot. 

Rtv.S.  Bow- 

"*«"•  Lancaster,  June  15,  1830. 

My  Dear  John, — I  have  been  highly  gratified  to  learn  your 
standing  and  progress  at  the  Institute,  and  hope  you  ma}'  always 
continue  to  do  justice  to  yourself  and  credit  to  your  friends. 
Never  think  that  I  am  indift'erent  about  your  welfare,  or  forget 
you,  but  letter-writing  is  so  irksome  to  me  yon  must  expect 
my  communications  to  be  ''  few  "  and  ''  far  between."  As  the 
time  draws  on  when  you  are  to  be  a  monitor  in  the  institution, 
I  hope  you  will  use  every  exertion  to  fit  yourself  for  your  new 
duties.    You  will  never  regret  hereafter  any  exertions  you 

'  How  little  did  Mr.  Bowman  clergy  would  always  reflect  on 

dream  that  he  himself,  some  28  the  influence  they  may  exert  on 

years  later,  was  to  be  Bishop  of  the    most  casual    contact    with 

Western  Penusylvauiii,  and  that  youth."— Bishop Coxe'sCowimw?- 

the  bright  young  lad  whom  he  orative  Sermon  on  Bp.  Kerfoot, 

was  befriending  was  destined  to  p.  11,  where  he  records  his  own 

be  his  successor  in  the  Episco-  first     accidental    meeting    with 

pate.     "  Oh  !    that  the   reverend  Kerfoot  and  Dr.  Muhlenberg. 


18B1.]  EARLY  LIFE  AND  EDUCATION.  9 

may  now  make  in  the  acquisition  of  knowledge.  On  the  con- 
trary, having  laid  a  good  foundation  now,  will  wonderfully 
facilitate  3'our  progress  in  all  your  future  studies.  I  would  not 
cherish  in  you  a  vain  spirit  of  ambition,  but  there  is  a  laud- 
able desire  to  excel  in  all  useful  and  virtuous  pursuits,  with- 
out which  no  one  will  ever  attain  eminence.  Whilst  then 
you  strive  to  do  whatever  you  can  do  better  than  others,  be 
at  the  same  time  careful  to  cultivate  an  humble  and  modest 
spirit.  Beware  lest  success  should  beget  pride — the  brightest 
genius  in  the  world  loses  half  its  brillianc}'  if  its  possessor 
appears  conscious  and  vain  of  it.  My  love  to  Mr.  Muhlenberg 
and  Mr.  Yarian,  and  be  assured  tliat  I  am,  and,  so  long  as 
you  shall  deserve  it,  shall  continue  to  be. 

Your  true  friend, 

S.  Bowman. 

June  10,  1830.  Last  Monday  evening  had  a  conversation 
with  Mr.  Muhlenberg.  He  always  talks  so  kindly  to  me  about 
religion  ;  encourages  me  to  lay  open  as  far  as  I  can  my  heart 
to  him.  ask  his  advice  and  counsel,'  that  for  weeks  after  I 
feel  the  immediate  influence  of  his  conversation  on  my  feelings. 

December.,  1830,  Flushing.  On  account  of  Mr.  Muhlenberg's 
arranging  our  recitation  so  that  we  had  to  recite  in  the  even- 
ing, we  were  compelled  to  dispense  with  our  Association 
meetings  at  that  time,  but  made  a  resolution  to  meet  at  4 
o'clock  a.  m.  [!]  every  Tiiursday.  But  the  watchman  not 
waking  us,  we  overslept  ourselves,  and  lost  one  meeting  for 
this  week. 

To  his  Mother. 

Flushing,  January  1,  1831. 

My  Dear  Mother., — I  must  not  let  New  Year's  Day  pass 
without  wishing  you  many  happy  New  Years.     Our  holiday 


'  This  practice  of  having  con- 
fidential talks  with  his  boj's, 
Kerfoot  kept  up  as  Rector  at  St. 
James's  College.  Hence  arose 
reports  that  he  encouraged  and 
practised  habitual  "sacramental 
confession"  in  the  sense  of  the 


modern  ritualists.  This  he  never 
did ;  it  was  abhorrent  to  him  as  it 
was  to  Dr.  Muhlenberg.  See  later 
on,  his  letter  on  the  subject  to  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Jackson,  President  of 
Trinity  College,  Hartford. 


10  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.  [Chap. 

has  been  very  pleasant.  All  the  boys  went  to  New  York 
this  week,  and  I  spent  a  very  pleasant  day  there.  This  day 
I  commenced  a  new  book  in  my  journal,  solemnly  dedicated 
myself  to  God  and  His  ministry,  and  entered  resolutions  for 

the  New  Year Closing  a  letter  to  you  seems  like 

slopping  a  pleasant  conversation  with  you,  but  unless  I  close 
it  will  never  reach  you.  Tell  my  dear  little  brothers  that  as 
it  is  a  new  year,  they  must  make  good  resolutions,  and  pray 

God  to  help  them  to  keep  them The  Chapel  of  the 

Institute  was  dressed  up  elegantly  on  Christmas,  and  seats 
have  been  put  in  like  pews,  so  that  it  looks  like  a  little  church. 
Mr.  Muhlenberg  is  still  very  kind  to  me.  I  can  make  free 
with  him  and  tell  him  all  that  is  in  my  mind. 

Believe  me,  dearest  mother,  your  truly  loving  and  ever 
aft'ectionate  sou, 

John  B.  Kerfoot. 

March  1,  1832.     This  day  1  entered  my  17th  year 

Have  just  returned  from  a  most  delightful  conversation  with 
Mr.  Muhlenberg,  my  dear  father  in  God.  If  on  earth  there  is 
a  perfect  man,  my  dear  Mr.  Muhlenberg  is  that  man.  He 
gave  me  good  advice  and  blessed  me.  If  God  had  deprived 
me  of  every  other  blessing,  and  given  me  but  the  friendship 
and  advice  of  such  a  man,  I  should  be  rich.  I  resolve  from 
henceforth,  with  God's  assistance,  through  Christ  my  Re- 
deemer, 1.  That  my  devotions  shall  be  more  strictly  attended 
to.  2.  That  my  temper  and  disposition  shall  conform  more 
to  God's  laws  and  requisitions.  3.  That  I  Avill  be  more  strict 
in  attending  to  my  duties  as  monitor,  pupil  and  school- 
fellow. Humbly  praying  for  God's  help  and  support,  I  make 
these  resolutions. 

John  B.  Kerfoot. 

Ash-Wednesday,  March  7,  1832.     About  the  beginning  of 

this  month  I  sent   a   paper  on  "Private  Prayer"  to  the 

Churchman,  edited  by  the   Rev.  Messrs.  Whittingham   and 

Van  Ingen.     It  was  inserted  with  some  slight  alteration. 

Vonfirmatiott.       April.    Our   class  for  Confirmation  numbers   ten,   viz.: 


1832.] 


EARLY  LIFE  AND  EDUCATION. 


11 


Walter  E.  Franklin,  John  S.  Breneman,  John  B.  Kerfoot, 
all  from  Lancaster;  John  Jay,  James  S.  Biddle,  Charles 
Newbold,  Henry  M.  Sheali',  Wm.  S.  Walcott,  Geo.  Q.Pome- 
roy  and  George  Williams. 

April  19,  1832.  5  to  6  p.  m.  "  'Tis  done,  the  great  transac- 
tion done.  Deign,  Gracions  Lord,  to  make  me  Thine."  These 
words  just  suit  me.  'Tis  done,  and  yet  it  is  but  begun,  so  far  as 
relates  to  my  Christian  life.  Mr.  Muhlenberg  read  tlie  prayers, 
Mr.  Seabury,  the  lessons,  Bishop  Onderdonk,  the  Ante- 
Communion  service  and  preached.  I  was  God's  before,  but 
I  am  now  His  by  public  profession 

October  31.  Flushing.  Mr.  Muhlenberg  allowed  me  to  go  to 
New  York  to-day  to  witness  the  consecration  of  four  bishops,' 
viz.:  the  lit.  Rev.  John  H.  Hopkins,  D.D.,  Vermont,  first 
bishop  of  that  diocese;  the  Rt.  Rev.  B.  B.  Smith,  D.  D., 
first  bishop  of  Kentucky  ;  the  Rt.  Rev.  Charles  P.  Mcllvaine, 
of  Ohio,  and  the  Rt.  Rev.  G.  W.  Doane,  A.  M.,  of  New 
Jersey.  The  sermon  was  preached  by  the  Rt.  Rev.  H.  U. 
Onderdonk,  of  Pennsylvania.  There  were  seven  bishops 
present,  besides  the  venerable  Bishop  AVhite,  and  an  immense 
congregation,  crowding  even  St.  Paul's  Church.  Bishop 
White  seems  fast  hastening  to  his  rest.  He  has  consecrated 
twent3^-five  bishops 

T/mrsday,  December  13,  1832.  This  is  the  day  appointed 
by  the  Governor  of  the  State  and  Bishop  Onderdonk,  as  a  day 
of  thanksgiving,  for  the  blessings  with  which  we  have  been 
crowned,  and  especially  for  the  removal  of  the  dreadful  pesti- 
lence of  cholera  which  had  appeared  in  our  land.  In  the 
afternoon  Mr,  Seabury  preached.  Mr.  Seabury  held  a  meet- 
ing of  those  connected  with  the  Institute,  in  Mr.  Diller's 
room,  and  it  is  proposed  to  meet  once  a  week.  The  objects 
ai'e  devotional  exercises  and  familiar  conversation  on  our 
duties  as  teachers  and  members  of  the  Institute.  The  welfare, 
spiritual  and  temporal,  of  our  common  friend  and  father,  Mr. 


'  Two  of  these  bishops,  Hop- 
kins, then  Presiding  Bishop,  and 
Mcllvaine,  took  part  in  the  conse- 
cration of  Kerfoot,   thirty-three 


years  later,  and  the  venerable 
Bishop  Smith  survived  him  more 
than  two  years. 


12  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOl.  [Chap.  I. 

Muhlenberg,  is  to  be  made  the  subject  of  special  prayer.  Mr. 
S.  said  that  the  familiar  and  friendly  advice  of  such  a  man  as 
Mr.  M.  was  invaluable,  and  we  ought  to  prize  the  privilege 
more  and  more. 

1833.  Mr.  Bowman  came  to  see  us  yesterday  afternoon, 
and  he  and  I  had  a  long  talk  on  the  Methodist  doctrines — or 
rather  ideas  of  the  doctrines  of  Justification,  Assurance,  etc. 
It  was  satisfactory  and  comfortable  to  me,  thrown  as  I  am  so 
much  among  Methodists. 

(jandidafefor      In  the  year  1833  he  became  a  candidate  for  Holy 

Holy  Orders.      ._     .  '^  ^  .  i  .      ,       i       .      i  t  in. 

Orders,  and  began  ins  theological  studies  under  Messrs, 
Samuel  Seabury  and  Samuel  Roosevelt  Johnson,  for 
both  of  whom  he  ever  retained  a  high  regard  and 
profound  admiration. 

November^  1833.  Yesterday  the  theological  class  handed 
in  to  Mr.  Seabury  essays  on  "  the  character  of  Christ  as  a 
branch  of  evidence."  After  the  recitation  was  over,  Mr. 
Seabury  called  me  aside  and  said  he  would  like  to  print  mine  in 
the  Churcliman^  of  wliich  he  is  editor.  Of  course  I  consented, 
for  it  was  very  gratifying  to  me  that  he  thought  thus  much  of 
a  piece  of  mine.  I  had  looked  upon  my  production  as  the 
poorest  in  the  class. 

December^  1833.  Mr.  Muhlenberg  preached  this  morning 
on  the  triumphal  entry  of  Christ  into  Jerusalem,  and  this 
afternoon  read  a  sermon  of  Bickersteth  on  Judgment.  Plain 
Calvinism  in  one  passage  put  me  on  my  guard ;  I  am  an 
Arminian. 

March  1,  1834.  My  testimonials  of  character  for  the  min- 
istry were  drawn  up  to-day  and  signed  by  William  Augustus 
Muhlenberg,  Dr.  Frederick  Aug.  Muhlenberg,  Mr.  Bowman 
and  others.  Mr.  Diller  and  I  entered  into  a  mutual  agree- 
ment to  write  to  and  pray  for  each  other  every  year  on  the 
birthday  of  each." 

'  This  agreement  was    closely    I    ing  of  the  steamboat  Seawhanaka 
kept  year  by  year,  until  the  sad        in  East  River,  in  July,  1880. 
death  of  Dr.  Diller  by  the  burn- 


1834-36.]  EARLY  LIFE  AND  EDUCATION.  13 

November.,  1834.  I  rise  regularl}^  at  four  o'clock.  Read  a 
chapter,  generally  with  a  commentary,  and  afterwards  read 
Butler's  Analogy.  This  work  I  intend  studying  only  before 
daylight,  and  when  I  get  done,  I  shall  have  the  satisfaction 
of  seeing  what  I  can  accomplish  by  early  rising. 

It  appears  from  various  entries  in  these  diaries  that 
the  Holy  Communion  was  administered  at  Flushing 
only  a  few  times  a  year.  Jn  a  paper  which  Dr. 
Muhlenberg  wrote,  to  be  read  in  the  chapel,  he 
appears  evidently  desirous  of  having  more  frequent 
administrations,  and  it  is  a  striking  illustration  of  the 
tone  of  churchmanship  in  those  days  that  he  felt  it 
necessary  to  explain  and  apologize  for  his  new  depart- 
ure. After  the  day  when  Newman's  influence  had 
begun,  the  administrations  became  much  more  numer- 
ous, and  Anally,  as  is  well  known,  Dr.  Muhlenberg 
instituted  the  first  weekly  celebration  in  our  country 
at  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Communion  in  New  York. 

November,  1835.  Mr.  Muhlenberg  has  been  obliged  to  go 
to  Lancaster,  but  everything  goes  on  well  here.  A  moral 
phenomenon  !  Eighty-two  boys,  many  from  16  to  18  years 
old,  governed  so  completely  by  three,  a  young  man.  Barton, 
twentj'-two  and  a  half  years  old,  and  two  boys,  L.  Van  B. 
and  myself,  twenty  and  nineteen.  A  conclusive  proof  of  the 
effect  of  discipline. 

A  dreadful  conflagration  took  place  in  New  York  on 
Wednesday  night,  destroying  $20,000,000.  Mr.  Muhlenberg 
made  it  the  occasion  of  a  most  splendid  and  useful  discourse 
this  afternoon. 

1836.     We  have  just  heard  of  the  death  of  the  venerable  Deaikof 
Bishop  White.     He  visited  the  Institute  six  or  seven  years 
ago,  and  when  Van  B.  and  I  were  introduced  to  him  in  the 
pallor  he  gave  us  his  blessing.    I  had  seen  him  before  that 
at  a  Confirmation  in  Lancaster,  when  he  confirmed   Squire 


BUhop  White. 


14  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.         [Chap.  1. 

Light,  a  man  as  aged  as  himself~a  beautiful  sight ;  and  again 
at  the  consecration  of  Bishops  Hopkins,  Smith,  Mcllvaine, 
and  Doane  ;  and  afterwards  in  Philadelphia,  when  he  was  too 
feeble  to  hold  a  Prayer-book  and  Bishop  Mcllvaine  rose  and 
held  it,  and  supported  him  while  he  gave  the  blessing.  I  had 
hoped  to  be  ordained  by  him. 

February^  1837.  Mr.  Bowman  writes  aft'ectionately  on  the 
subject  of  my  becoming  a  missionary.  He  is  disposed  to  give 
"home  duties"  strong  claims.  He  is  so  good  and  truly 
sensible  and  always  so  very  kind  to  me  that  his  words  must 
have  force  with  me.  I  must  examine  myself  again  and  again, 
but  as  yet  I  feel  not  the  least  disposition  to  alter  my  views. 

February  26,  1837.     My  last  Sunday  as  a  layman I 

think  I  have  abundant  reason  to  regard  my  call  by  God  to  the 
ministry  as  full  and  clear 

Kindness  meets  me  on  every  side.  The  Freshmen  Class 
have  sent  me  an  atiectionate  paper  signed  by  all  of  them. 
The  younger  boys  are  giving  me  a  gown,  and  my  dear  friend 
in  Lancaster,  Miss  Yeates,  also  offered  me  one.  To  Miss 
Yeates,  the  Sunday-School  teacher  of  my  youth,  and  my  kind 
and  helpful  friend  for  all  these  years,  I  owe  more  than  I  can 
express  in  words. 

February  28,  1837.  The  last  day  of  my  minority,  and  of 
my  laymanship.  Tuesday  night,  11.30  o'clock.  I  now  mal<:e 
the  last  record  in  the  journal  of  my  boyhood.  My  examination 
has  passed  satisfactorily;  none  but  the  Bishop  questioned  me. 
I  am  going  to  my  rest  now  a  la3'^-boy  ;  to-morrow  night  I  shall 
be  a  clergy-man !  May  new  grace  come  with  the  new 
character  !  1  desire  to  record  my  humble,  hearty  gratitude 
to  God  for  all  the  mercies  of  my  youth,  and  I  solemnly  devote 
to  Him  all  my  life  in  the  ministry  of  Christ,  hoping  for  accep- 
tance only  througli  His  merits,  and  depending  for  success  only 
on  the  influence  of  His  blessed  Spirit.  Now  farewell  happy, 
favored,  blessed  days  of  my  youth !  Welcome  more  arduous, 
toilsome  days  of  manhood.     May  all  my  days  be  Christ's! 

Ordination.      The   ordinatioii    to   the  diaconate   took   place  on 
March  1,  1837,  Bishop  Onderdonk  kindly  consenting 


1837.]  ORDINATION.  15 

to  bold  a  special  ordination  on  that  day,  though  a 
week  day,  to  gratify  Kerfoot's  ardent  desire  to  be 
ordained  on  his  21st  birthday.  Immediately  after  the 
ceremony  he  wrote  the  following  entry  in  his  diary: 

March  1,  1837,  near  2  p.  m.  The  solemn  service  is  over  aud 
I  am  a  minister  of  Jesus  Christ.  Those  solemn  responsibili- 
ties are  resting  upon  me,  and  the  vows  of  God  upon  my  soul, 
and  in  humble  reliance  upon  His  strength  I  am  resolved  to 
labour  to  fulfil  them.  I  am  glad  to  have  given  myself  to 
Christ.  May  God  bless  me  by  giving  me  souls  sanctified 
through  His  grace,  and  then  take  me  to  Himself  for  ever  and 
ever.  Amen.  My  holiday  of  two  weeks  will  be  very  accept- 
able to  me  now  ;  part  of  the  time  I  shall  be  with  my  mother 
and  near  friends  in  Lancaster  and  York. 

March  5.  My  first  Sunday  in  the  ministry.  I  have  read 
the  service  and  preached  twice  to-day,  morning  and  evening, 
in  St.  John's  Church,  York,  for  my  friend  Walter  Franklin.  .  .  . 
I  will  now  record  with  grateful  feelings  to  God  and  man,  the 
great  kindness  that  greeted  me  on  every  side  at  the  Institute, 
on  Wednesday  last  [the  day  of  his  ordination].  The  warmth 
and  kindness  of  Mr.  Muhlenberg  and  my  fellow-instructors, 
the  hearty  good  wishes  received  from  all  my  dear  companions, 
showed  more  than  mere  complimentary  politeness  ;  their  con- 
gratulations were  warm  and  attectionate.  One  little  fellow 
did  not  like  to  come  in,  but  staid  at  my  door  until  I  called  and 
talked  to  him  ;  another,  not  wishing  to  come  to  my  room, 
waited  at  the  dormitory  door  at  night  until  he  had  an  oppor- 
tunity to  speak  to  me  most  lovingly.  The  small  dormitory 
all  sent  a  good-night  message  to  me  by  their  prefect.  After 
evening  family  prayers  in  the  chapel,  Mr.  Muhlenberg  gave 
me  the  opportunity  to  thank  them  all  for  their  kindness  and 
sympathy.  My  very  handsome  black  silk  gown  was  accompa- 
nied by  a  note  signed  by  one  member  of  each  class  in  behalf 
of  the  others.  My  friend,  Libertus  Van  Bokkelen,  gave  me  a 
very  handsome  copy  of  the  Clergyman's  Companion.  Mr. 
Diller  gave  me  Brittan's  Guide  to  Church  Fellowship.     All 


16  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.  [Chap.  I. 

showed  me  the  sympathy  of  brothers.  If  I  am  disheartened 
or  vexed,  I  will  think  of  my  ordination  day  and  take  new 
courage. 

COBRESPONDENCE. 
The  Bev.  Dr.  Muhlenberg  to  "  Master  John  Ker/oot.^' 
Flushing,  September  24,  1830. 
AHat.  14.  Dear  John, — I  received  your  letter  by  Mr.  Diller,  and  had 
I  not  been  so  unsettled  would  have  answered  it  sooner.  I 
hope  you  have  improved  some  of  the  vacation  in  reading  and 
profitable  employment :  for  the  mind,  left  so  long  neglected, 
would  resemble  your  garden  here,  from  the  same  cause,  full  of 
weeds.  ...  I  suppose  you  have  heard  of  the  loss  of  the  Church 
in  the  death  of  Bishop  Hobart,  whose  place,  in  his  Diocese, 
will  not  be  easily  filled  again.  I  send  you  a  copy  of  my  new 
pamphlet,  from  which  30U  will  find  that  we  open  the  1st  Monday 
in  October,  when  I  hope  to  have  the  pleasure  of  seeing  you,  and 
learning  that,  during  your  absence,  you  have  been  a  good  boy. 
I  often  think  of  you,  especially  at  those  times  when  I  know 
you  would  desu'e  to  be  remembered. 

Afte'ctionately  yours, 

Wm.  Augustus  Muhlenberg. 

Flushing,  June,  1833. 
My  Dearest  John, — Or  rather,  my  dearest  sou,  for  I  love  to 
have  you  call  me  ''  Father  "  :  "  Call  no  man  Father  "'  indeed, 
says  the  Saviour — but  in  the  ties  of  spiritual  att'ection,  in  the 
love  that  shall  outlive  death,  it  delights  me  to  call  you  son, 
and  om*  Father  in  Heaven,  I  trust,  will  be  glorified  in  your 
afl'ection  for  me,  as  the  spiritual  parent  who  through  His 
grace — "  has  begotten  you  in  the  Gospel."  No  other  oflspring 
am  I  likely  to  have,  and  therefore  my  heart  clings  with  the 
warmer  attachment  to  my  children  in  Christ.  It  is  very 
grateful  to  my  feelings  that  you  thought  of  spending  in 
writing  to  me  a  part  of  a  day  consecrated  to  the  holy  object 
to  which  you  have  devoted  your  life — the  sacred  ministry — 
and  for  a  reply  I  wish  I  had  a  day  to  pen  a  communication 


1836.]  CORRESPONDENCE.  17 

that  might  be  a  lasting  record  of  the  share  I  have  had  in 
helping  yo\x  to  the  important  decision.  I  will  endeavour  not 
to  neglect  the  admonishing  of  you,  as  you  may  need  it.  I  am 
so  much  disposed  to  turn  away  from  the  minor  faults  of  those 
whose  hearts  are  true  in  the  main,  that  I  am  not  as  vigilant  a 
censor  as  Christian  friendship  requires.  If  I  cannot  be  sure 
that  I  will  tell  you  of  every  fault,  as  I  may  observe  it,  yet 
this  much  I  will  promise,  never  to  censure  you  in  any 
particular  to  another,  before  I  have  spoken  to  3'ourself. 
"  The  Lord  bless  thee  and  keep  thee  " — 
"  The  Lord  make  His  face  to  shine  upon  thee,  and  be  gracious 

unto  thee  " — 
''  The  Lord  lift  up  His  countenance  upon  thee,  and  give  thee 

peace."     From  my  inmost  heart  and  forever, 
Your  Father  in  Christ  Jesus, 

Wm.  Aug.  Muhlenbekg.' 

To  his  Mother.  J-  "■  A",  to  his 

mottitr,  March 

Institute,  Flushing,  March  17,  1836. 
My  Dearest  Mother, — Last  night  as  usual  I  went  down  to 
my  friend  Mr.  Van  Kleeck  to  recite  my  theological  lesson, 
and  signed  as  witness  to  an  unexpected  marriage.  When  I 
returned  at  half  past  10  Barton  joined  me.  and  we  went  down 
together  to  the  housekeeper's  room  and  lightened  her  shelves 
of  the  last  of  her  late  batch  of  pies,  managing  to  discuss  the 
whole  of  it  between  us.  I  was  further  refreshed  on  going  to 
my  room  by  finding  a  letter  from  you,  which  S.  had  opened, 
however,  as  he  said  he  could  not  wait  until  my  retui-n.  If  1 
do  not  write  frequently  it  will  not  be  from  sickness  ;  so  don't 
be  worried.  I  am  very  busy  at  tliis  time,  working  often  six- 
teen hours  a  day,  so  let  that  be  my  excuse.  I  am  well,  and 
have  far  more  than  I  deserve  for  both  soul  and  body. 

Your  lovinij  Son, 

J.  B.  K. 

'  This  letter  enclosed  a  number        bis    boys    for    special   needs  or 
of  Utile  leaflets  of  prayers,  such    ;    occasions, 
as  Ur.  Muhlenberg  often  gave  to    | 


laie. 


18  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.  [Chap.  1. 

To  his  Mother. 

I  am  kept  quite  busy  now,  get  up  quarter  before  6,  Chapel 
quarter  after  6.  Then  we  all  walk  about  a  mile,  then  break- 
fast. I  keep  the  Junior  Study  from  quarter  past  7  until  9, 
then  hear  a  class  until  10.  Then  recite  myself  (Logic)  until 
11,  then  hear  a  class  until  12.  Dine  at  half  past  12;  recite 
Classics  from  1  to  2  ;  keep  the  smaller  boys  from  2  to  4J 
[this  was  recreation  and  playtime].  Study  from  4^  to  6^. 
Tea  ;  hear  a  class  from  7  to  8  ;  keep  study  from  8  to  9  ; 
Chapel ;  bed  at  10.  Most  go  to  bed  soon  after  9,  but  to  have 
any  leisure  I  must  go  later.  It  is  now  nearly  10.  So  you 
see  I  am  kept  quite  busy.     But  I  am  very  happy 

Out  of  a  large  number  of  remarkably  sensible 
letters  of  the  Rev.  Samuel  Bowman,  room  can  be 
made  only  for  the  following.  Like  all  the  others,  it 
is  a  proof  of  his  affectionate  interest  in  the  progress  of 
the  young  man  whose  early  promise  as  a  boy  had 
attracted  his  attention,  and  who  so  thoroughly  repaid 
the  generous  regard  which  his  kind  pastor  and  friend 
bestowed  upon  him. 

The  Rev.  Samuel  Bowtnan  to  John  B.  Kerfoot. 

Lancaster,  May  11,  1832. 
My  Dear  John, — I  was  pleased  to  hear  from  you  a  few  days 
since,  and  embrace  the  opportunity  of  Mr.  Conyngham's  visit 
to  riushing  to  assure  you  that  I  feel  undiminished  interest  in 
your  welfare.  Experience  will  teach  you  not  to  estimate  the 
regard  of  your  friends  by  acts  of  mere  courtesy  and  civihty. 
These,  you  will  find,  abound  most  in  those  who  care  least  for 
you.  The  last  man  in  the  world  to  be  applied  to,  in  real 
difficulties,  is  he  who  is  most  lavish  of  fair  speeches  and 
civilities  when  they  are  not  wanted.  They  cost  nothing  ;  but 
with  the  young  and  inexperienced  they  often  pass  for  sterling 
coin.    There  are  no  opinions  you  will  more  frequently  change 


1832.]  REV.  S.  BOWMAN.  19 

as  you  advance  in  life  than  those  which  respect  men  and 
manners.  But,  as  I  have  found,  there  are  some  lessons  that 
we  never  learn  perfectly  till  experience  hath  taught  us. 

You  have  been  confirmed  ;  you  have  taken  those  solemn 
vows  that  equally  oblige  you  to  renounce  the  world  and  to 
devote  yourself  to  God.  May  you  have  the  grace  to  keep 
them  !  Do  not  think  the  business  of  religion  done  when  you 
have  made  a  public  profession  of  it.  That  is  indeed  an 
important  step,  but  it  is  only  a  step 

Your  mind,  I  suppose,  is  fully  made  up  as  to  the  point  of 
making  the  ministry  your  profession.  Your  own  reason  will 
teach  you  the  propriety  of  cultivating  those  studies  and  those 
pious  affections  on  which  so  much  of  your  future  usefulness 
and  happiness  will  depend.  Let  me  advise  you  on  one  or 
two  matters  generallj'  treated  as  of  inferior  moment,  but 
which,  from  my  own  experience,  I  can  say  are  of  very  high 
importance. 

The  first  is,  that  you  begin  now  to  cultivate  the  habit  of 
composing  rapidly.  Reflect  well  upon  your  subject  before 
you  begin  to  write,  but  when  you  take  up  your  pen  dash  on, 
and  never  stop  to  balance  between  the  choice  of  words 
diflering  a  shade  from  each  other  in  meaning.  After  you 
have  written,  revise  as  carefully  as  you  please.  This  was 
Dr.  Johnson's  advice :  "I  would  say  to  a  young  divine,''  said 
he,  "  here  is  your  text ;  let  me  see  how  soon  you  can  write  a 
sermon  upon  it."  He  averred,  what  is  undoubtedly  true, 
that  it  is  far  more  easy  to  improve  in  correctness^  than  in 
rapidity  of  composition. 

The  other  point  is,  that  you  cultivate  the  habit  of  extempore 
speaking.  You  have  a  society,  have  you  not?  where  you 
will  find  an  opportunity  for  this  ;  and  if  you  have  not  such  a 
society,  this  object  alone  is  of  sufficient  importance  to 
authorize  the  institution  of  one.  The  ability  to  deliver  one's 
thoughts  extemporaneously  is  natural  to  some  persons.  But 
it  may  by  every  person  almost  be  acquired.  It  will  not  only 
lighten  the  labors  of  the  Pulpit  to  a  great  extent,  but  it  will 
render    those    labors    vastly    more    efficient.      Even    those 


20  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.  [Chap.  I. 

persons  who  have  no  prejudice  against  a  written  discourse, 
must  acknowledge  the  advantage  which  a  practised  spealier 
has  in  delivering  his  thoughts  without  the  stiflness  and  form- 
ality of  writing. 

My  paper  warns  me  to  conclude.  Mr.  C.  will  give  you  all 
the  news.  Assuring  you  of  my  unabated  interest  in  your 
prosperity  and  happiness, 

I  am,  my  dear  John, 

Very  sincerely  yours, 

S,  Bowman. 


CHAPTER  II. 

COLLEGE  POINT.       MARYLAND. 
1838-1843.     Aetat.  31-26. 

On  the  first  of  March,  1838,  the  young  deacon  made 
the  following  entry  in  his  diary: 

The  first  year  of  my  ministry  is  finished,  and  I  have  been 
allowed  to  perform  the  following  duties :  Read  prayers  in  full 
80  times;  preached,  85  times;  partial  services,  15;  assisted 
at  Communion  8  times ;  marriages,  2 ;  baptisms,  4 ;  two 
adults,  two  infants  ;  funerals,  4 ;  besides  the  incessant  and 
really  arduous  duties  of  a  teacher,  and  frequent  services  in 
"  voluntary  meetings."  My  way  for  the  coming  year  is  not 
quite  decided,  but,  if  I  remain  here,  I  will,  I  think,  take  Zion 
Church,  Little  Neck,  near  College  Point,  which  was  oftered 
me  last  summer.  I  long  for  real,  ministerial  duty.  I  think 
constantly  of  the  Eastern  Churches,  hoping  to  be  labouring 
before  many  years,  in  their  behalf.  I  use  my  Greek  Testa- 
ment in  my  devotions,  and  purpose  doing  so  more  and  more. 

This  practice  was  diligently  kept  up,  morning  and 
evening,  to  the  last  year  of  his  life.  He  knew  his 
Greek  Testament  well,  and  the  close  study  of  its  text 
was  always  a  great  delight  to  him. 

His  diary  shows  that  his  ideal  of  the  teacher's  Ker/ooiasa 
vocation  was  a  high  and  noble  one.  He  could  never 
be  content  with  simply  imparting  Latin  and  Greek, 
or  any  other  branches  of  study,  though  all  this  he  did 
with  exceptional  success.  His  heart  yearned  to  do  all 
he  could  for  the  moral  improvement  and  spiritual 
growth  of  tlie  pupils  under  liis  charge.     Dr.  Muhlen- 


22  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.         [Chap.  II. 

berg's  system  allowed  for  this.  Jealousy  and  self- 
esteem  were  utterly  alien  to  the  character  of  that 
admirable  man  (as  they  were  also  to  that  of  his  pupil, 
Kerfoot),  and  any  capacity  which  a  young  teacher 
might  evince  for  acting  as  a  pastor,  for  preparing  the 
boys  for  confirmation,  for  gaining  their  confidence  and 
influencing  their  moral  and  religious  character,  was 
heartily  encouraged  by  Dr.  Muhlenberg.  Kerfoot 
frequently  laments  in  his  diaries  that  he  cannot  do 
more  in  this  way  for  his  boys;  he  resolves  to  give 
more  and  more  time  for  private  talks  with  them, 
"knowing  from  his  own  experience  with  his  dear  Mr. 
Muhlenberg  how  much  good  can  be  effected  in  this 
way." 

His  recitations  were  made  extremely  interesting; 
the  boys  were  kept  wide  awake  by  the  rapid  fire  of 
questions,  by  his  clear  and  interesting  explanations, 
and  by  the  sharp  attention  that  was  required  to  what 
was  going  on.  An  idle  or  superficial  student  was  soon 
discovered,  and  he  had  to  mend  his  ways  or  else  pass 
an  uncomfortable  time.  It  is  probable  that  this  in- 
cessant daily  use  of  his  voice  all  the  week  and  on 
Sunday  as  well,  laid  the  foundation  of  the-disease  of 
the  throat  which  so  much  troubled  and  disabled  him 
a  few  years  later. 
Religious      The  Chapel  Services  at  Flushing  and  at  College 

influences,  .  .  ^  tt     t  itt        t  -x  r^^       •  1 

romt  durmg  Holy  Week,  and  at  Christmas  and 
Easter  and  all  the  greater  festivals,  were  highly  im- 
pressive and,  for  that  day,  something  remarkable.  If 
by  the  much  abused  term  "  ritualist,"  we  may  under- 
stand one  who  has  a  vivid  sense  of  what  is  fitting  in 
worship;  one  who  knows  the  value  of  splendid  archi- 


1838.]  COLLEGE  P0IN1.  23 

tecture,  of  beautiful  and  appropriate  music,  of  dignity 
and  grandeur  in  ceremonial,  and,  above  all,  of  genuine 
reverence  accompanying  every  word  and  action  in 
divine  service,  then  Dr.  Muhlenberg  was  almost  a 
ritualist  by  nature.  He  had  an  inborn  sense  of  all 
these  things,  and  the  keenest  appreciation  of  the  true, 
the  beautiful,  and  the  good.  Moreover,  he  was  a  poet, 
and  his  imagination  entered  into  the  meaning  of  all 
the  Church  festivals,  and  seized  at  once  the  leading 
idea  of  the  Prayer-Book  services.  So  far,  on  the  other 
hand,  as  ritualism  may  be  thought  to  denote  a  secret 
longing  for  doctrines  and  practices  Roman  rather 
than  Anglican,  for  the  mere  outside  show  of  "  ecclesias- 
tical millinery,"^  or  for  theatrical  attitudinizing, "  bow- 
ings" and  ''prostrations,"  that  phase  of  churchman- 
ship  was  abhorrent  to  Dr.  Muhlenberg's  tone  of  mind 
as  well  as  to  Kerfoot's.  Reality — the  sternest  reality 
— was  a  most  striking  characteristic  in  both  these 
men.  Yet  the  services  at  College  Point,  and  after- 
wards at  St.  James's,  would  certainly  have  been  called 
ritualistic — had  the  word  at  that  time  been  known. 
"Tractarian"  and  "Paseyite,"  and  even  "Popish,"  they 
were  sometimes  named  by  the  critics,  or  rather  gossips, 
of  the  period.  Dr.  Muhlenberg's  ecclesiastical  and 
theological  views  and  opinions,  his  varying  phases  of 


•  This  expression  is  borrowed 
from  Bishop  WTiittingham.  In  a 
conversation,  which  must  have 
taken  place  somewhere  between 
1867  and  1872,  the  Bishop  speak- 
ing of  another  clergyman,  said : 


carried  away  by  fondness  for 
this  ■man-mxlVxntry  that  is  be- 
coming so  popular."  It  is  im- 
possible to  represent  on  paper 
the  peculiar  emphasis,  strongly 
tinged  with  contempt,  with  which 


"  In  fact,  H.,  the  only  thing  I  have  ,  Bishop  Whittingham  turned 
ever  heard  to  his  disparagement  round  and  pronounced  these 
is  that    he  has  been    somewhat    '    words 


24  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.         [Chap.  II. 

"churehmanship" — and  withal,  his  essential  consist- 
ency from  first  to  last — are  portrayed  with  admirable 
skill  and  penetration,  by  Miss  Ay  res,  in  her  charming 
and  valuable  book.  The  Life  and  Work  of  Dr.  Muhlen- 
herg.  Indeed,  Dr.  Muhlenberg  has  himself  truthfully 
sketched  his  own  ecclesiastical  position  in  a  remarkable 
autobiographic  paper,  printed  by  Miss  Ayres,  in  the 
11th  chapter  of  her  volume,  p.  171.  This  paper  was 
drawn  up  by  Dr.  Muhlenberg,  in  1872,  and  begins 
with  the  words:  "I  was  never  a  High  Churchman." 
It  is  deeply  interesting  and  will  well  repay  perusal, 
but  as  it  is  easily  accessible  in  his  Life,  it  need  not  here 
be  quoted,  though  it  shows  plainly  enough  some  of 
the  influences  that  were  concerned  in  forming  Ker- 
foot's  ecclesiastical  position  and  character.  Such  as 
they  were,  they  gradually  made  him  a  High  Church- 
man, though  never  an  extreme  partisan.  Dr.  Muhlen- 
berg's services  and  sermons  made  a  marked  impression 
upon  him.  Thus  he  records  his  enjoyment  of  Easter, 
1838; 

This  morning  is  a  beautiful  one.  All  nature  is  bright  and 
cheerful,  and  seems  rejoicing  with  the  happy  Cliurch,  happy 
in  the  resurrection  of  her  Lord.  ...  I  do  love  my  own  dear 
Church  more  and  more.  Good,  indeed,  were  the  men  who 
framed  her  Liturgy.  Our  Chapel  is  dressed  in  white  ;  a  large 
white  tablet,  with  tlie  word 

RESURREXIT 

above  a  large  cross  of  white  and  pink  flowers.  We  all,  both 
from  the  Point  and  the  Institute,  unite  in  the  Communion 
to-day  in  the  chapel  of  the  Institute,  and  for  the  last  time.  In 
a  month  we  shall  all  be  at  the  Point.  Evening. — This  has 
been  a  very  interesting  day  to  us  all.  Tlie  Chapel  beautifully 
decorated,  the  music  most  impressive,  as  also  Mr.  Muhlen- 
berg's remarks 


1838.]  COLLEGE  POINT.  25 

The  Rev.  J.  B.  Kerfoot  to  his  Mother. 

Philadelphia,  Sept.  9,  1838. 

My  Very  Dear  Mother, — How  truly  can  I  say,  as  I  have  f^^'S^^ 
often  since  here  said,  "it  is  good  for  us  to  be  here.''  My 
love  for  my  dear  Church  seems  from  time  to  time,  as  if  it 
could  increase  no  more,  and  yet  it  is  ever  increasing.  Many 
and  many  a  time  do  1  thank  God  most  heartily  that  His  Holy 
Spirit  has  led  me  into  the  ranks  of  her  ministry.  It  does  my 
heart  good  to  listen  to  the  earnest  debates  conducted  in  so 
Cliristian  and  friendly  a  spirit. 

A  crowded  house  listened  on  Sunday  morning,  for  one 
hour  and  twenty  minutes,  to  a  sermon  from  Bishop  Meade,  of 
Virginia.  After  the  sermon,  we  all,  hundreds  of  ministors, 
with  the  lay  members  of  the  Convention,  knelt  at  the  Table  of 
the  Lord,  and  received  from  our  venerated  bishops  the  sacred 
emblems  of  His  Body  and  Blood.  All  of  our  bishops,  sixteen, 
are  now  here.  That  morning  fifteen  were  present,  and  it  was 
a  grand  and  beautiful  sight  to  see  them,  all  robed  and  in  pro- 
cession, the  eldest  leading,  nearly  eighty  years  old,  down  to 
the  youngest  but  little  past  thirty  years,  pass  along  the  wide 
aisle  of  the  Church  to  the  Chancel,  then  bow  down  in  prayer 
together,  and  lovely  was  the  sight  when  after  the  services 
were  over,  they  were  returning,  still  robed,  and  were  long 
indeed  in  passing  down  the  aisle,  for  friend  after  friend 
grasped  their  hands  in  love  and  veneration.  There  was  a 
bishop  whose  bending  form  and  hoary  head  told  of  years 
spent  in  the  work  of  the  ministry,  long  before  many 
brethren  in  the  work,  then  crowding  around  him,  were  born. 
And  one  old  man.  Bishop  Moore  of  Virginia,  was  a  truly 
lovely  object  as  he  passed  slowly  on  among  delaying  crowds, 
his  long  white  hair  reaching  below  his  shoulders.  His  gray- 
headed  son  had  that  morning  read  the  Prayers,  and  that  son, 
himself  venerable  in  years,  is  now  daily  seen  supporting  the 
noble  old  Patriarch  to  the  Convention.  I  have  heard  noble 
sermons  from  several  of  the  bishops.  This  morning  I 
preached  for  a  friend  in  Moorestown,  New  Jersey,  and  will 
preach  in  Lancaster  next  Sunday.    Dr.  Muhlenberg  is  here, 


26  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.         [Chap.  II. 

and  I  enjoy  myself  very  much.  We  are  in  a  nice  boarding 
house  with  several  clergy  and  their  families,  and  are  very 
comfortable,  paying  $6  per  week. 

Your  loving  son, 

John  B.  Kerfoot. 

Eif  desire tobe     During  all  this  period  there  are  constant  references 

a  Missionary.  . 

in  his  journals  to  mission  work  among  the  Nestorian 
Christians  in  the  East.  It  had  been  Kerfoot's  desire 
from  early  years  to  be  a  missionary.  In  his  diary 
repeated  mention  is  made  of  the  matter,  but  duties 
right  at  his  feet  seemed  ever  to  detain  him  at  home. 
He  desired  to  join  the  Rev.  Horatio  Southgate  in  his 
missionary  labors,  and  several  times  his  departure  for 
that  distant  field  seemed  imminent.  But  Dr.  Muhl- 
enberg was  never  ready  to  part  with  his  favorite 
pupil  and  valued  assistant,  for  whom  he  was  ever 
devising  new  and  engrossing  plans  of  school- work ;  in 
fact  he  was  leaving  more  and  more  upon  him.  Bishop 
Onderdonk  at  length  positively  interposed  with  his 
episcopal  veto,  and  assured  his  young  deacon  that  it 
was  his  duty  to  stay  at  home;  there  was  plenty  of 
work  for  the  Church  at  home,  in  this  growing  coun- 
try, for  which  he  was  specially  qualified,  and  which 
would  engross  all  his  powers.  The  purpose  was  at 
length  finally  abandoned,  but  with  many  regrets  and 
even  some  misgiving  lest  the  decision  should  have 
been  a  selfish  one.  Dr.  Muhlenberg,  with  his  charac- 
teristic common  sense  and  sound  judgment,  gently 
laughed  at  these  misgivings,  telling  Kerfoot  that  from 
the  way  he  worked  and  spent  himself  for  others  he 
would  soon  find  he  had  taken  up  quite  as  hard  a  task 
at  home  as  that  which  he  had  resigned  abroad. 


£a^^/.   /f^r^/^ 


From   a   Miniature   on   Ivory   dy  George   Baker. 


1840.]  COLLEGE  POINT.  27 

Having  been  ordained  deacon  on  his  21st  birthday,  ^fp^^H^, 
his  diaeonate  could  not  be  less  than  three  full  years. 
He  had  arranged  with  Bishop  Onderdonk  that  his 
24th  birthday  (March  1,  1840)  should  be  the  day  of 
his  ordination  to  the  priesthood,  and  the  time  was 
now  drawing  near. 

February  23,  1840.  This  is  the  last  Sunday  of  my  diaeon- 
ate      Wednesday,  Friday,  and  Saturday  being  Ember 

Days. 

I  purpose  observing  them  by  fasting  and  prayer,  and  may 
the  Holy  Spirit  illuminate  my  heart  and  conscience,  and  fill 
me  with  that  deep  and  abiding  sense  of  my  responsible  calling, 
without  which  I  cannot  hope  to  please  my  Master. 

One  matter  has  been  long  in  my  mind ;  it  is  that  I  have  Ee-bapUzed 
received  only  Presbyterian  baptism.  I  am  not  convinced  of  ^'<>"''''^'^«%- 
the  invalidity  of  lay-baptism,  but  I  have  doubts,  though  these 
are  not  very  serious.  Still,  if  I  doubt  at  all,  I  ought  to  banish 
such  doubts  by  receiving  Episcopal  baptism  :  and  if  ever,  it  is 
manifestly  proper  it  should  be  now,  before  this  my  final 
ordination.  My  doubts  are  not  great,  yet  enough  to  make 
me  feel  it  more  secure  to  receive  indisputable  baptism  now. 
Not  that  1  slight  the  pious  dedication  of  my  pious  parents  in 
my  infancy,  but  I  desire  to  fill  up  what  they  did  desire  for  me, 
the  Episcopal  and  truly  catholic  character  of  my  baptism. 
One  very  weighty  consideration  is  this  :  I  expect  to  live  and 
labor  among  Christians  [the  Nestorians]  who  are  strict  in 
their  adherence  to  episcopacy.  My  ministerial  authority 
might  be  affected  in  their  eyes,  did  they  know  of  any  such 
deficiency  in  my  baptism.  Therefore  I  have  asked  Mr. 
Muhlenberg  to  give  me  hypothetical  baptism  before  my 
ordination.  Mr.  M.  approves,  but  thinks  the  Bishop  the 
proper  person  to  administer  it.  .  .  . 

March  1,  Sunday  Morning.  This  is  to  me  a  most  solemn 
day.  I  feel  much,  but  can  say  but  little.  My  dear  father, 
Dr.  Muhlenberg,  has  spent  some  time  with  me  in  prayer. 
May  God  bless  him  for  all  his  love  and  kindness  to  me,  and 


28  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.        [Chap.  II. 

make  me  like  him,  as  he  is  like  Christ My  views  of 

the  Church  are  materially  altered,  and,  I  hope,  improved. 
They  are  certainly  such  as  to  give  me  lowlier  views  of  the 
man,  while  I  have  higher  and  more  awful  ones  of  the  office. 

Sunday  evening,  11  o^ clock.  Thank  God  !  I  am  now  a 
Presbyter  of  His  Holy  Church.  This  has  been  the  happiest 
day  of  my  life.  "  Praise  the  Lord,  O  my  soul,  and  all  that 
is  within  me,  praise  His  Holy  Name." 

By  the  Bishop's  permission,  Dr.  Muhlenberg  privately 
baptized  me,  hypothetically,  Mr.  Van  Bokkelen  the  only  one 
present.  At  the  Church  (St.  George's  Church,  Flushing)  the 
service  was  read  by  Dr.  Cruse,  the  Psalms  and  Hymns  given 
out  by  Mr.  Goodwin,  and  Dr.  Muhlenberg  preached  the  best 
sermon  I  or  others  here  have  ever  heard  on  the  answer  of 
Christ  to  the  young  man:  "  If  tliou  wilt  be  perfect,"  etc. 
His  concluding  address  to  me  was  aflfectionate,  solemn,  and 
almost  overpowering.  I  never  so  saw  and  felt  the  awful, 
eternal  responsibility  of  my  work,  or  so  trembled  at  the 
view  of  it.  I  could  only  look  up  for  wisdom  and  strength 
to  Him  by  whom  I  felt  and  believed  myself  called.  Far 
more  solemn  was  the  whole  act  and  the  vows  than  those  of 
my  diaconate.  Faint,  yet  happy,  humble  and  grateful  did  I 
rise  from  my  knees  Christ's  priest  until  death  ;  I  trust  and 
believe  for  ever. 

I  went  to  Clintonville  for  service  directly  after  luncheon, 
and  found  my  Sunday-School  well  taken  care  of;  held  service 
there,  and  walked  home  to  the  College,  where  I  preached  at 
the  afternoon  service  in  the  (Chapel.  After  this  service,  set 
out  with  our  College  choir  and  a  few  others  to  Whitestone, 
where  we  had  a  very  crowded  church,  and  ten  were  con- 
firmed. Hearty  indeed  was  the  Amen  to  each  blessing  of 
the  Bishop.  Five  ...  I  had  baptized.  I  then  walked  home 
happy  but  fatigued.  A  short  talk  with  my  friend  Van 
Bokkelen  (who  had  been  too  unwell  to  go  to  the  service  of 
the  morning)  and  private  prayers  ended  this,  the  holiest, 
happiest  day  of  my  life. 

This,  the  first  Sunday  of  his  priesthood,  was  almost 
a  fair  specimen  of  all  his  Sundays  until  his  last  illness. 


views. 


1841.]  COLLEGE  POINT.  29 

Nearly  every  hour  was  incessantly  occupied  in  tho 
direct  work  of  the  ministry.  When  enough  of  such 
work  did  not  come  in  the  regular  and  prescribed  line 
of  his  duty  (as  when  he  was  President  of  Trinity 
College),  he  would  make  work  by  taking  duty  in  the 
hospitals  in  Hartford  and  ministering  to  the  sick. 

He  makes  mention  in  one  place  of  his  views  of  the  '\ootford 
Church  undergoing  a  change,  and,  as  he  thought, 
improving  in  tone.  One  of  the  sources  of  this  may, 
perhaps,  be  found  in  another  entry  in  his  diary  in 
October,  1839  :  "  I  find  very  pleasant  and  profitable 
Mr.  NewTnan^s  Sermo7is — so  much  spoken  against, 
but  they  must  fill  the  soul  of  any  sincere  believer  and 
devout  Christian  with  resolutions  of  greater  holiness. 
As  to  the  '  Oxford  views,'  I  like  many,  very  many 
of  them — some  I  eschew.  But  they  are  misunder- 
stood by  many  good  men ;  I  may  not  yet  understand 
those  I  dislike,  and  may  speak  difierently  of  them 
hereafter."  * 

In  February,  1841,  he  was  gratified  by  an  unex- 
pected proposition  through  Bishop  Kemper  from 
Messrs.  James  Lloyd  Breck,  J.  H.  Hobart,  Miles  and 
Adams,  of  the  General  Theological  Seminary,  who 
had  associated  themselves  as  a  religious  house 
[Nashotah]  in  Wisconsin,  to  be  their  head.  "Were 
prior  obligations  not  existing,  I  should  unhesitatingly 
(after  they  knew  me  better)  accede  to  their  plan  so 
rational  and  so  devoted.  Messrs.  Breck  and  Miles 
came  up  last  night  on  this  business,  and  I  feel  a  deep 
interest  in  the  plan,  though  my  duty  is  clearly  not  to 
unite  in  it." 

'Compare  Dr.  Muhlenberg's  I  man's  Sermons  upon  himself, 
account  of  the  influence  of  New-   |    Life  and  Work,  p.  178. 


32  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.        [Chap.  II. 

though  the  Bishop  himself  is  far  from  having  the  thought, 
much  less  the  wish  that  it  should  be  so.  The  address,  which, 
by  the  by,  he  delivered  to  the  confirmed  while  yet  kneeling, 
immediately  after  the  imposition  of  hands,  was  much  plainer, 
very  excellent  and  fervent.  The  Holy  Communion  was 
administered  directly  after  to  about  one  hundred  persons, 
white  and  colored  (among  them  most  of  those  just  con- 
firmed, seventeen  white  and  six  colored).  .  .  .  The  Bishop's 
devout  and  fervent  manner  was  in  itself  a  sermon  to  us  all. 
His  bright  and  excited  countenance  made  up  for  his  voice, 
really  too  weak  for  his  duties.  And  then,  he  seemed  to  catch 
every  interval  for  prayer,  during  the  Communion.  Each  time 
that  he  returned  to  the  Holy  Table,  after  distributing  the 
Bread,  and  when  probably  none  but  myself  could  see  him,  he 
would  stand  before  the  Table,  his  hands  clasped,  his  eyes 
closed,  and  his  lips  rapidly  moving,  evidently  absorbed  in 
deep  and  earnest  devotion.  I  have  within  these  few  days 
seen  much  to  strengthen  my  conviction  that  this  Diocese  is 
blessed  in  a  Bishop  who,  perhaps  beyond  any  man  I  know — 
certainly  beyond  all,  save  one  (my  dear  Dr.  M.) — lives  simply 
and  singly  for  the  glory  of  his  Master,  and  the  good  of  the 
Church 

November,  1841.  College  Point.  Bishop  Kemper  has  just 
visited  us  and  has  had  letters  fx-om  young  Mr.  Hobart  in 
Wisconsin,  modestly  telling  their  plans  and  doings.  It  made 
me  feel  humble.  Bishop  Kemper  had  also  the  loan  of  a 
letter  from  Mr.  Southgate,  with  much  cheering  intelligence  of 
his  work.  I  felt  disappointed  that  it  was  not  to  be  my  work. 
Ups  and  downs  in  thoughts  and  feelings  I  must  look  for,  but 
my  heart  aches  at  the  thought  that  I  may  have  tm-ned  away 
from  God's  own  truest  work 

January  \st,  1842.  My  intercourse  with  Dr.  Muhlenberg  is 
more  frequent  and  delightful  than  ever  before.  I  love  him 
more  than  ever,  and  often  feel  how  deeply  I  shall  regret  my 
separation  from  him. 

March  \sU  1 842.  My  birthday  and  day  of  both  ordinations ; 
26  years  of  my  life  have  passed.    I  reviewed  carefully  the 


1841.]  MARYLAND.  33 

ordination  office  of  Priests,  and  prayed  for  grace  to  remember 
and  keep  my  solemn  vows.  Well  do  I  remember  this  day 
two  and  five  years  ago !  .  .  .  . 

St,  James's  Hall,  in   Maryland,  was   not   o-penedst.james'8ffau. 
until  the  end  of  September,  so  that  Mr.  Kerfoot  did 
not  leave  his  old  home  finally  until  that  time.    In  the 
interval  he  was  constantly  busied  with  the   prepa- 
rations for  his  new  work. 

The  following  letters  of  the  years  1841-1842  relate 
to  the  opening  of  St.  James's  Hall,  and  to  Bishop 
Whittingham's  invitation,  first  to  Dr.  Muhlenberg, 
and  then  to  Mr.  Kerfoot,  to  remove  to  the  Diocese  of 
of  Maryland.  It  should  not  be  forgotten  that  the 
very  idea  of  a  Church  School,  as  held  by  Dr.  Muhlen- 
berg, was,  at  that  time,  an  entire  novelty  in  our 
country. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  MuMenherg  to  the  Bishop  of  Maryland. 

College  Point,  N.  Y.,  March  9th,  1841. 

Right  Rev.  and  Dear  Sir, — The  more  I  think  of  the  pro- 
posed branch  of  om*  institution  in  your  diocese,  the  more 
disposed  I  feel  to  attempt  to  realize  it. 

I  believe  it  would  operate  favorably  on  the  cause  of  edu- 
cation in  various  ways,  and  not  the  least  by  showing  the  true 
way  of  beginning  a  Church  School.  I  have  often  wished  for 
an  opportunity  of  starting  de  novo,  with  a  few  select  men  and 
with  perfect  independence  as  to  patronage.  This,  it  appears 
to  me,  we  could  do  at  "  Fountain  Rock."  We  would  send  out 
a  colony  of  pious,  intelligent,  respectable  young  fellows,  with 
Kerfoot  at  their  head,  who  would  care  nothing  about  their 
support,  and  enter  upon  their  work  con  amore.  They  would 
be  the  soul  of  the  thing  and  gradually  they  would  generate 
the  body  around  them.  I  have  the  whole  arranged  in  my 
mind,  and  I  believe  we  would  realize  the  very  beau  ideal  of  a 


TSftLzBC  ir  "^iViTg  Tifirr  re  3i£-  varif-    X'flL  shSc  I  jtacie  sit.  Ijve 

1  VTirty  -v^is::  rsrr  ^  OIIDt^     I  fr.j«r  &  ^^JMll'llM  CT^R^  SdbooL 

urc  £  ir'SEi  liiecair*  imcaxiciar-.  ....  I  essietB  31  cc  e^scEsal 


--^-  liDtJ 


TT.A-M: 


ST  rrf^  Dr.  lEriife:  r^r' 


Cl     "It 

odDEs 


fj:-  a;  ^a.  __ 


■■4  liter  fir,— II 
fees 

ill 


1941-3  XABTILLSZ'.  -So 

If  jocr  recovery  has  been  in  pr        '    i  :r 

brethren-  yoa  most  aow  be  qai:^r  ^'r. 

I  have  wntteitoltr.  TT.  B.;  Lvmaz  iz :  . 
oust  of  aH  Aat  need  be  done  a:  7     i 
far  o^  pirpaee,  wMcfa.  I  hope  ^«~— 
ddaj.    Of  this.  howev«.  I  an  i 

llwTdiitg  committee  ha  -----  ■  _:----_- 

doAt  of  &eir  obtain:-. 

I  gave  th-:  .   .  - 


.:  I  Qaa  c   i 
_  -  _    :  :■-  _-^-..aie  wtth  ' 
'^^"^ilc  in  Maryland  I  ~ 
rmponance  o:  ±ere  'tr-ein^  i.  ^-'M  _^^:-i  ^- 
1??It  it  a  Triviles^  tha:  I  ■*'is  ^"-r'  r^^  it"^-  a- 
I  shall  therefore,  l- 

;____-_-_;.  with  the  un-iers:- : .    _ 

premises  are  in  ooniple:sf  or'ier  before  we  are 


Kel  a  liitle  .:._.- 1 

as  tfaey  will  rwenxy  acres. :: 

lie:-  -        ;. 

hBTeteCB  the  VcTT  -^      . 

W.  A.  Mrsun 


ri«  Ea,  Dr.  Jfalhmltrff  ia  At  Aui^ 

CoOese  Point.  IS".  Y»  Augrist  25,  1*41. 
Bijii  Stv,  ^atd  Ikur  Sir. — Mr.  Kertoot  teHs  me  yoa  wiH 
eipev:t  to  hear  from  me  aboct  a  classical  teacher,  who  desired 
a  sitoatioa  some  months  ago.  I  cannot  a:  diis  moment  recall 
his  name,  bat  he  wished  ^e  place  of  an  assfsans.  and  co  be 
in  die  nei^borhoodof^ew  York-  .  .  .  Mr.  Worth  ington  of 
Toor  t£ocese  has  also  written  to  me  ^or  a  a»«±<er,  bot  I  hare 


36  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.        [Chap.  II. 

none  to  send  him.  Almost  every  week  I  am  making  the 
same  reply  to  similar  applications.  Teachers  for  Church 
Schools  are  now  the  demand  everywhere,  and,  of  the  right 
sort,  they  are  not  be  found. 

In  this  state  of  things,  my  dear  Bishop,  what  are  we  to  do? 
But  one  thing,  it  seems  to  me,  after  prayer  to  the  great  Lord 
of  the  harvest — to  get  the  Church  to  endow  an  Institution 
which  shall  do  the  same  service  for  the  Church  that  West 
Point  is  doing  for  the  army.  My  idea  of  ''^Cadets  of  the 
Church,''''  I  am  sure,  is  the  true  one.  We  shall  never  cope  with 
Rome  until  we  have  a  disciplined  body  of  men  ready  to  go  at 
the  icord  of  command  wherever  they  are  sent.  We  should  have 
a  religious  order  of  '•''Brothers  of  Obedience.'^ 

1  am  glad  to  hear  that  things  are  going  on  so  well  at 
Fountain  Rock.  I  expect  to  be  in  Baltimore  about  the 
middle  of  next  month,  when  I  hope  to  have  the  pleasure  of 
meeting  you. 

Very  dutifully  yours, 

Wm.  Augustus  Muhlenberg. 

The  a       fthe  ^^*  ^^^'  '^'  ^'  ^^"""/^^^  ^^  '^*  Bishop  of  Maryland, 

pro^s^^s'chool.  ^^j^^g^  p^.^^^  j^^  Y.,  Nov.  3d,  1841. 

Right  Rev.  and  Bear  Sir, — When  Mr.  Lyman  visited  us 
here,  we  thought  St.  James  the  best  name  we  could  select. 
Dr.  Muhlenberg,  however,  has  since  urged  St.  Clemenfs  Hall, 
as  preferable  for  sound  and  peculiarity.  No  other  institution 
has  this,  while  St.  James's  is  the  name  of  a  school  at  Bristol, 
Pennsylvania.  The  high  character  which  Scripture  and  pure 
antiquity  give  St.  Clement  is  of  course  a  great  recommend- 
ation of  the  name.  We  await  your  approbation,  and  I 
earnestly  solicit  it,  to  prefix  it  to  the  circular,  which  is  nearly 

ready 

Respectfully  and  aflectionately  yours, 

John  B.  Kerfoot. 


1841.]  MARYLAND.  37 

The  Bishop  of  Maryland  to  the  Rev.  J.  B.  Kerfoot. 

Baltimore,  Nov.  6th,  1841. 
My  Dear  BrofAer,— Believing  that  the  poet's  line, 
"  A  rose  by  any  otJier  name  would  smell  as  sweet," 

to  be,  like  many  others  from  the  same  mint,  a  specious  lie,  I 
am  by  no  means  inditferent  to  the  name  of  our  establishment. 
I  must  say  I  am  well  enough  pleased  with  that  already 
selected  (and,  as  I  believe,  published  in  the  Church  Almanac), 
notwitlistanding  its  previous  adoption  by  an  institution  with 
which  ours  is  little  likely  to  be  confounded.  Why  not  have 
both  a  Pennsylvanian  and  a  Mar3'land  "  St.  James's  School "  ? 
The  a6El<^odEoq  (as  the  Church  delighted  to  call  him)  is  too 
glorious  a  patron  to  be  willingly  resigned,  or  for  trifling 
reasons.  Besides,  it  is  possible,  that  some  over-sensitive 
alarmists  might  have  strength  of  vision  enough  to  see  a 
substratum  of  Popery  under  the  adoption  of  the  name  of  the 
first  Bishop  of  Rome  and  thirteen  popes  !  Nevertheless,  if 
you  insist  on  it,  I  do  not  attach  enough  importance  to  the 
matter  to  be  obstinate  in  my  preference,  and  will  give  in  to 
the  Doctor  and  yourself  with  a  very  good  grace— not,  how- 
ever, without  at  least  intimating  a  condition,  to  wit,  that 
before  the  said  institution  shall  be  opened  by  said  name,  the 
Faculty  of  St.  Paul's  College  shall  have  given  to  the  world  a 
cheap,  neat  and  accurate  edition  of  the  Epistle  of  St.  Clement 
in  Greek,  fit  for  use  in  the  school  as  a  text-book !  .  . .  . 

In  a  subsequent  letter,  dated  December  30,  1841, 
most  of  which  is  occupied  with  business,  Bishop 
Whittingham  said:  "I  heard  with  great  surprise,  the 
other  day,  that  your  calculations  were  not  to  lead  the 
life  of  a  celibate  at  the  Hall.  It  was  perfectly  new  to 
me,  as  my  dreams  had  been  all  of  a  brotherhood,  such 
as  that  at  St.  Paul's."  To  this  letter  Mr.  Kerfoot 
made  the  following  reply : 


38  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.         [Chap.  n. 

The  Rev,  J.  B.  Kerfoot  to  the  Bishop  of  Maryland. 

College  Point,  N.  Y.,  January  3d,  1842. 

Right  Rev.  and  Dear  Sir, — Your  letter  of  the   30th   ult. 

reached  me  on  Saturday  evening In  replying  to  the 

business  items, let  me  suggest,  what  of  course  you 

know,  that  I  have  no  direct  or  immediate  personal  interest  in 
the  matters  of  loss  and  gain.  I  should  add  that  gain  for  this 
establishment  is  not  in  our  view  :  we  hope  that  uo  loss  will 

be  the  result One  plan  I  cherish  with  much  interest. 

It  is  to  aftbrd  a  home  and  education  to  some  carefully  selected 
young  men  from  the  Missions  at  Constantinople  and  Harden, 
with  aview  to  their  returning  to  their  own  homes  either  to  teach 
or  preach  as  Providence  might  order.  I  have  written  to  Mr. 
Southgate,  and  will  on  some  occasion  write  more  fully  to  you 
of  my  thoughts  in  the  matter.  I  have  neither  the  power  nor 
the  wish  to  forget  that  Mission.  As  to  myself,  ....  I  live  a 
a  celibate  for  the  year.  If  after  that  I  marry,  my  marriage 
will  at  the  least  bring  no  expense  on  that  or  on  any  other 
enterprise.  I  always  resolved  not  to  marry  early,  and  always 
disclaimed  any  further  resolution.  My  expectation  indeed  was 
expressed,  to  lay  aside  the  monk's  cowl  when  all  seemed  right 
for  it.  At  the  time,  however,  of  my  acceding  to  the  Mary- 
land scheme,  no  such  measure  was  designed,  though  fame 
asserted  early  last  summer,  in  Baltimore,  that  it  was  all 
settled  :  she  was  mistaken  then,  however,  as  she  often  is. 

I  imagine  that  to-day  you  received  by  Mr.  Davies  a  bundle 

of  the  pamphlets The  name  St.  James's  was  retained, 

as  Mr.  Lyman  spoke  so  earnestly  for  others  as  well  as  him- 
self against  St.  Clement's 

I  am  very  affectionately  and  respectfully  yours, 

John  B.  Kebfoot. 

The  Rev.  J,  B.  Kerfoot  to  the  Bishop  of  Maryland. 

College  Point,  N.  Y.,  January  17th,  1842. 
Right  Rev.  and  Dear  Sir, — Your  letter  of  the  13th  reached, 
me  on  Saturday,  and  I  need  not  say  was  a  very  acceptable  one 
tome 


1842.]  MARYLAND.  39 

First  let  me  say  how  happy  I  am  to  know  that  my 
academical  corps  is  now  complete.  Mr,  Trevett,  Messrs.  R. 
S.  Rowland,  D.  E.  Lyman,  J.  Kip  Anderson,  and  my  brother 
Samuel  acting  as  Secretary.  Rowland  perhaps  you  know — 
a  graduate  of  ours  and  a  candidate  for  orders,  now  in  the 
Seminary.  Re  spent  last  year  here  in  teaching.  Anderson 
is  now  in  our  Senior  Class,  and  has  pursued  his  whole  college 
course  with  us.  He,  as  well  as  Rowland,  has  excellent 
abilities  ;  both  are  superior  mathematicians,  are  preparing 
for  the  ministry,  and  go  with  me  from  an  honest  and  pious 
purpose  to  do  good  as  well  as  from  personal  feeling.  I  am 
pledged  to  superintend,  under  your  direction,  their  theological 
studies ;  you  will  remember  your  kind  promise  to  give  it, 
made  me  last  summer.  My  brother,  now  in  his  19th  year, 
spent  between  four  and  five  j'^ears  here,  and  two  3'ears  ago 
went  into  a  store.  Re  will  keep  the  books  of  the  institution 
(excepting  of  course  the  Curator's  accounts  with  the  parents, 
with  which  we  are  to  have  nothing  to  do),  and  act  as  a  Prefect, 
chiefly  of  order.  As  to  Mr.  L.  and  Mr.  T.,  deserving,  as  I 
doubt  not  they  do,  your  testimony,  they  must  prove  very 
valuable.  So,  in  a  good  matron,  steward  and  housekeeper, 
the  domestic  arrangements  are  well  and  surely  begun.  I  ouly 
wish  I  were  more  competent  to  direct  all  the  concern  ;  I  can 
only  say  I  go  with  my  whole  heart  into  the  work,  sincerely 
and  humbly  grateful,  I  hope,  to  Him  who  seems  so  clearly  to 
smile  upon  it  and  us,  and  resolved  with  His  aid  to  do  all  my 
best 

As  to  the  "missionary  graft,"  your  prompt  and  hearty 
approval  makes  me  very  happy.  The  thought  of  the  measure 
has  been  the  only  thing  that  fully  satisfied  my  mind ;  and 
the  change  of  my  hope  into  a  full  assurance  that  it  meets 
your  views  ....  gives  me  more  delight  than  I  am  able  to 
express  .... 

The  remainder  of  the  above  letter  is  taken  up  with 
a  careful  estimate  of  the  cost  of  the  necessary  outfit 
for  the  school,  entering  into   the  minutest  details. 


40  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.         [Chap.  H. 

Much  of  this  was  after  all  purchased  on  credit,  so  far 
was  Dr.  Muhlenberg's  expectation  of  starting  without 
any  pecuniary  embarrassment  from  being  realized. 
The  untiring  efforts  of  Bishop  Whittingham  and  of 
the  Kev.  T.  B.  Lyman  in  raising  funds  were  only 
partially  successful,  and  it  is  almost  impossible  to 
exaggerate  the  difficulties  and  hindrances  which  arose 
from  attempting  to  begin  a  school  without  any  endow- 
ment or  any  fund  to  draw  upon  in  case  the  revenue 
from  pupils  should  fall  short  of  what  was  expected. 
Later  in  the  summer.  Bishop  Whittingham  writes 
very  despondently :  "  I  am  distressed  and  dispirited 
in  the  most  extreme  degree  by  the  failure,  almost 
entirely,  of  the  effort  of  Mr.  T.  B.  Lyman  to  raise  our 
fund  for  furnishing,  etc.,  and  by  the  utter  silence  of 

Mrs. concerning  her  loan.     What  to  do  Iknow  not. 

The  horrible  state  of  business,  etc.,  and  the  failure  in 
the  crops  in  a  large  part  of  Maryland,  cut  me  off 
from  my  hope  of  immediate  contributions.  If  I  were 
disposed  to  go  in  debt,  I  have  some  doubt  as  to  the 
continuance  of  my  own  receipts  from  the  diocese,  and 

know  not  how  to  get  credit " 

At  last,  however,  matters  were  so  far  arranged  that 
the  opening  of  the  school  in  October,  1842,  was  defi- 
nitely decided  upon. 
Marriage.  But  before  this  took  place,  since  Dr.  Muhlenberg's 
personal  connection  with  the  school  had  been  aban- 
doned, and  Kerfoot  was  to  take  entire  charge, 
he  changed  his  plans  in  one  important  particu- 
lar. In  the  letter  to  Bishop  Whittingham,  printed 
above,  dated  January  3,  1842,  he  had  spoken  of  his 
expectation  to  "live  a  celibate"  during  the  first  year 


1842.]  MARYLAND.  41 

of  his  life  in  Maryland,  at  Fountain  Rock.  As  there 
seemed  to  be  no  reason  for  adhering  to  this  purpose, 
it  was  happily  abandoned,  and  he  was  married  in 
St.  John's  Chapel,  New  York,  to  Miss  Eliza  M. 
Anderson,  eldest  daughter  of  Abel  T.  Anderson,  Esq., 
of  New  York,  and  of  his  first  wife,  Miss  Helena  Kip, 
of  a  well-known  family  of  Dutch  descent,  as  the  name 
itself  indicates.^ 

The  close  intimacy  which  had  grown  up  between 
Mr.  Kerfoot  and  Mr.  Anderson's  family  may  be 
gathered  from  several  passages  already  quoted  from 
the  diaries  of  the  former.  It  had  come  about  in  the 
following  natural  way. 

Among  the  students  at  St.  Paul's  College  was 
James  Kip  Anderson,  a  son  of  Mr.  Abel  T.  Anderson. 
He  was  a  very  bright,  impressionable,  attractive  lad, 
and  one  of  those  in  whom  Kerfoot  took  a  deep  interest, 
preparing  him  for  confirmation,  watching  over  his 
mind  and  religious  growth,  and  giving  him  the  benefit 
of  his  counsel  and  oversight,  as  repeated  mention  of 
him  in  the  journals  shows.  A  warm  friendship  grew 
up  between  teacher  and  pupil,  which  was  gratefully 
appreciated  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Anderson.  Frequent 
visits  were  made  by  the  young  Professor  to  the  resi- 
dence of  Mr.  Anderson  in  New  York  during  the 
winter  of  1839-40,  but,  as  it  happened,  Miss  Anderson, 
Kerfoot's  future  wife,  was  not  at  home,  and  they  met 
for  the  first  time  at  College  Point,  on  the  occasion  of 
young  Kip  Anderson's  confirmation  in  June,  1840. 
Kerfoot's  association  with   this  family  not  only  led 

1  The  Rev.  Dr.  Muhlenberg  offi-    I    Drs.  Berrian  and  Wainwright  be- 
ciated  at  the  ceremony,  the  Rev.    [    ing  present  in  the  chancel. 


42  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.         [Chap.  H. 

ultimately  to  his  happy  marriage,  but  also  had  no 
inconsiderable  influence  upon  his  churchmanship. 
Mr.  Anderson  himself  was  of  Scotch  descent,  and  was 
born  and  bred  a  Presbyterian.  He  graduated  at 
Columbia  College,  studied  law,  was  decidedly  thought- 
ful and  studious,  and  a  great  reader.  He  read  and 
thought  himself  into  the  Church,  becoming  a  genuine 
High  Churchman,  though  of  no  extreme  or  narrow 
type.  His  second  wife  (Miss  Katharine  Van  Alen, 
daughter  of  Cornelius  C.  Yan  Alen,  Esq.),  who  had 
been  a  real  mother  to  the  future  Mrs.  Kerfoot,  was, 
and  still  is,  a  devoted  and  intelligent  churchwoman. 
It  was,  in  short,  a  delightful  Christian  home,  full  of 
youthful,  merry  company;  the  young  Professor  was 
made  heartily  welcome,  and  extremely  enjoyed  his 
visits,  which  soon  became  as  frequent  as  his  college 
duties  would  permit  him  to  make  them.  He  always 
used  to  say  that  he  "  fell  in  love  with  his  mother-in- 
law  first,"  and  certainly  the  affection  between  them 
was  warm  and  devoted  to  the  day  of  his  death.  Mr. 
Anderson  was  at  first  a  member  of  the  Ascension 
Church  in  New  York.  Its  Rector,  afterwards  Bishop 
Eastburn,  and  his  brother  James  (author  of  the  hymn 
"O  Holy,  Holy,  Holy  Lord,"  No.  139  in  our  Hymnal) 
were  college  mates  of  his  at  Columbia,  and  intimate 
personal  friends.  After  the  Ascension  Church  burnt 
down,  Mr.  Anderson  went  to  St.  John's  Chapel,  and  for 
many  years  before  his  death  in  1862,  he  was  a  ves- 
tryman of  Trinity  Parish.  Having  always  lived  a 
retired,  almost  monkish  life  with  the  "Brotherhood  " 
at  College  Point,  Kerfoot,  whose  own  temperament 
was    naturally   bright    and    merry,    and    decidedly 


1842.]  MARYLAND.  43 

domestic,  greatly  enjoyed  the  new  society  and  charm- 
ing home  life  into  which  he  was  thrown.  The  town 
house  was  in  St.  John's  Square,  where  the  winters 
were  spent;  in  the  summer  the  family  removed  to 
Mr.  Anderson's  country  seat  in  Westchester  County 
on  the  Harlem  river.  Many  a  merry  rowing  party 
landed  there  from  College  Point  during  the  summer 
evenings,  and  a  constant  intercourse  was  kept  up.  In 
the  summer  of  1841,  Mr.  Kerfoot  and  Miss  Anderson 
became  engaged,  with  the  hearty  approbation  of  her 
parents.  In  September,  1842,  as  has  been  said,  they 
were  married,  and  one  week  afterwards  Kerfoot  de- 
parted for  Maryland  with  his  bride,  arriving  in  Balti- 
more about  the  end  of  the  month.  A  few  days  later 
he  reached  "  Fountain  Rock,"  the  fine  old  Maryland 
country-seat  which  was  to  be  transformed  into  St. 
James's  Hall,  and  become  the  scene  of  his  educational 
labors  and  happy  married  life  for  the  next  twenty- 
two  years. 

Those  years  were  indeed  oftentimes  full  of  anxieties 
about  his  work,  as  the  record  that  is  to  follow  will 
show ;  the  death  of  four  lovely  and  dearly  loved 
children,  too,  clouded  his  bright  sky,  each  loss  being  a 
blow  of  unspeakable  severity  to  his  affectionate  nature. 
But  still,  it  was  beyond  most,  a  family  life  happy  in 
perfect  love  and  peace  and  usefulness,  and  full  of 
precious  memories  to  those  who  survive  him. 


42  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.         [Chap.  H. 

ultimately  to  his  happy  marriage,  but  also  had  no 
inconsiderable  influence  upon  his  churchmanship. 
Mr.  Anderson  himself  was  of  Scotch  descent,  and  was 
born  and  bred  a  Presbyterian.  He  graduated  at 
Columbia  College,  studied  law,  was  decidedly  thought- 
ful and  studious,  and  a  great  reader.  He  read  and 
thought  himself  into  the  Church,  becoming  a  genuine 
High  Churchman,  though  of  no  extreme  or  narrow 
type.  His  second  wife  (Miss  Katharine  Van  Alen, 
daughter  of  Cornelius  C.  Yan  Alen,  Esq.),  who  had 
been  a  real  mother  to  the  future  Mrs.  Kerfoot,  was, 
and  still  is,  a  devoted  and  intelligent  churchwoman. 
It  was,  in  short,  a  delightful  Christian  home,  full  of 
youthful,  merry  company;  the  young  Professor  was 
made  heartily  welcome,  and  extremely  enjoyed  his 
visits,  which  soon  became  as  frequent  as  his  college 
duties  would  permit  him  to  make  them.  He  always 
used  to  say  that  he  "  fell  in  love  with  his  mother-in- 
law  first,"  and  certainly  the  aflPection  between  them 
was  warm  and  devoted  to  the  day  of  his  death.  Mr. 
Anderson  was  at  first  a  member  of  the  Ascension 
Church  in  New  York.  Its  Rector,  afterwards  Bishop 
Eastburn,  and  his  brother  James  (author  of  the  hymn 
"O  Holy,  Holy,  Holy  Lord,"  No.  139  in  our  Hymnal) 
were  college  mates  of  his  at  Columbia,  and  intimate 
personal  friends.  After  the  Ascension  Church  burnt 
down,  Mr.  Anderson  went  to  St.  John's  Chapel,  and  for 
many  years  before  his  death  in  1862,  he  was  a  ves- 
tryman of  Trinity  Parish.  Having  always  lived  a 
retired,  almost  monkish  life  with  the  "Brotherhood  " 
at  College  Point,  Kerfoot,  whose  own  temperament 
was    naturally   bright    and    merry,    and    decidedly 


1842.]  MARYLAND.  43 

domestic,  greatly  enjoyed  the  new  society  and  charm- 
ing home  life  into  which  he  was  thrown.  The  town 
house  was  in  St.  John's  Square,  where  the  winters 
were  spent;  in  the  summer  the  family  removed  to 
Mr.  Anderson's  country  seat  in  Westchester  County 
on  the  Harlem  river.  Many  a  merry  rowing  party 
landed  there  from  College  Point  during  the  summer 
evenings,  and  a  constant  intercourse  was  kept  up.  In 
the  summer  of  1841,  Mr.  Kerfoot  and  Miss  Anderson 
became  engaged,  with  the  hearty  approbation  of  her 
parents.  In  September,  1842,  as  has  been  said,  they 
were  married,  and  one  week  afterwards  Kerfoot  de- 
parted for  Maryland  with  his  bride,  arriving  in  Balti- 
more about  the  end  of  the  month.  A  few  days  later 
he  reached  "  Fountain  Rock,"  the  fine  old  Maryland 
country-seat  which  was  to  be  transformed  into  St. 
James's  Hall,  and  become  the  scene  of  his  educational 
labors  and  happy  married  life  for  the  next  twenty- 
two  years. 

Those  years  were  indeed  oftentimes  full  of  anxieties 
about  his  work,  as  the  record  that  is  to  follow  will 
show;  the  death  of  four  lovely  and  dearly  loved 
children,  too,  clouded  his  bright  sky,  each  loss  being  a 
blow  of  unspeakable  severity  to  his  afiectionate  nature. 
But  still,  it  was  beyond  most,  a  family  life  happy  in 
perfect  love  and  peace  and  usefulness,  and  full  of 
precious  memories  to  those  who  survive  him. 


O  o 

•-  a; 


uj  a 


^^mm 


1842.]  OPENING  OF  ST.  JAMES'S  HALL.  45 

where  in  the  country,  except  at  College  Point.  A 
fine  piece  of  property — part  of  a  large  estate  which 
had  fallen  into  decay — known  as  "  Fountain  'Rock ^''^  Fountain  Eock. 
situated  in  Washington  county,  Maryland,  six  miles 
from  Hagerstown,  happened  to  be  thrown  upon  the 
market.  The  young  rector  of  St.  John's  Church, 
Hagerstown,  the  Rev.  Theodore  B.  Lyman  (now 
Bishop  of  North  Carolina),  was  one  of  the  first  to 
perceive  that  a  good  opportunity  was  thus  afibrded  to 
the  diocese  of  establishing  a  church  school  on  that 
beautiful  site.  He  lost  no  time  in  communicating 
with  his  Bishop,  with  whom  he  had  had  peculiarly 
close  ties,  and  in  whose  house  at  the  seminary  he 
had  lived  as  a  son.  The  Bishop  at  once  adopted  the 
idea,  threw  himself  into  the  movement  with  eager- 
ness, and  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  it.  Five 
thousand  dollars  were  needed  to  purchase  the  prop- 
erty, which  sum  the  Bishop  and  Mr.  Lyman  at 
once  proceeded  to  collect  Great  was  the  labor, 
mortifying  and  almost  incredible  the  delay  experi- 
enced in  raising  even  this  small  sum  in  Maryland  at 
that  time  for  such  a  purpose.  It  would  be  tedious  to 
recount  these  difficulties,  though  if  it  were  done,  it 
would  give  a  vivid  idea  of  Bishop  Whittingham's 
indomitable  energy,  of  Mr.  Lyman's  zealous  activity 
in  the  cause,  and  also  of  Mr.  Kerfoot's  courage  in 
undertaking  the  work,  and  of  his  success  in  over- 
coming discouraging  obstacles.  There  were  some 
fast  and  faithful  friends  of  the  enterprise  who  co- 
operated heartily  with  their  Bishop,  but  they  were 
not  many  at  first,  nor  were  they  men  of  large  means. 
The  work  therefore  made  slow  progress,  and  the  day 
of  opening  the  school  was  several  times  postponed. 


46  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.      [Chap.  HI. 

When  the  property  was  nearly  secured,  the  next 
step  was  to  obtain  a  competent  head  for  the  new 
institution,  and,  above  all,  one  in  sympathy  with  the 
Bishop's  views  on  education.  His  eyes  turned  natu- 
rally to  College  Point,  with  which  he  was  well 
acquainted,  from  his  former  residence  in  New  York. 
If  Dr.  Muhlenberg  could  not  help  him,  the  Bishop 
hardly  knew  where  to  go.  His  first  thought,  as  the 
reader  has  gathered  from  the  letters  in  the  previous 
chapter,  was  to  make  the  new  school  a  branch  of  College 
Point,  with  Dr.  Muhlenberg  as  the  nominal  head. 
These  plans,  though  actually  considered,  were  soon 
abandoned.  The  Doctor,  however,  consented  to  give 
up  his  trusted  assistant  and  dear  friend,  Kerfoot,  then 
Professor  of  the  Latin  and  Greek  languages,  and  his 
right-hand  man,  so  to  say,  at  College  Point. 
After  many  delays  and  much  anxious  correspondence 
with  Bishop  Whittingham  and  Mr.  Lyman  (some  of 
which  has  been  given  in  the  preceding  chapter), 
arrangements  were  at  length  completed  for  opening 
the  new  school  under  the  name  of  St.  James's  Hall, 
in  October,  1842. 
"jaretmuto  Before  Kerfoot  took  his  departure  for  Maryland, 
there  was  a  solemn  service  in  the  Chapel  at  College 
Point,  and  Dr.  Muhlenberg  delivered  an  address,  in 
v^^hich  he,  in  some  degree,  expounded  his  views  about 
Christian  education,  said  his  good-bye,  and  wished  God- 
speed to  his  friend.  From  this  faded  MS,  entitled 
"  Farewell  to  Kerfoot^''  this  address  has  been  with  no 
little  diflSculty  deciphered.  Everything  connected 
with  Dr.  Muhlenberg  is  interesting,  and  this  paper 
deserves  particular  attention.     It  takes  us  back  to  the 


Kerfoot." 


1842.] 


OPENING  OF  ST.  JAMES'S  HALL. 


47 


source  and  fountain-head  of  a  great  movement,  of 
which  that  remarkable  man  was  the  pioneer,  and 
which  has  been  and  still  is  a  great  blessing  to  his 
Church  and  country.  This  short  discourse  may  be 
taken  as  Dr.  Muhlenberg's  own  exposition  of  his  educa- 
tional theories  and  aims,  then  so  utterly  new  and  very 
far  from  being  appreciated.  With  these  same  purposes 
and  views  Kerfoot  went  to  Maryland,  and,  aided  by 
Whittingham,  founded  St.  James's.  The  parent 
institution  soon  died,  chiefly  from  want  of  generous 
support — its  founder  being,  like  so  many  great 
reformers,  much  in  advance  of  his  time.  But  Dr. 
Muhlenberg's  ideas  and  the  enthusiasm  he  had  inspired 
did  not  die.  They  lived  on  and  on.  In  a  pathetic 
and  charming  discourse  at  St.  James's  in  1851,  he 
joyfully  recognized  the  Maryland  college  as  his  own 
beloved  school  revived — "  the  offspring  bidding  fair  to 
outstrip  the  sire."  '     A  few  years  passed,  and  the  Civil 


'  Though  it  is  anticipating  a 
few  years,  a  quotation  from  this 
address  may  be  pardoned:  "It 
is  not  to  be  said  that  the  object 
of  the  institution  of  which  I  have 
been  speaking  has  failed  because 
College  Point  is  now  a  deserted 
spot.  There  has  been  no  failure. 
The  seed,  if  not  bearing  its  produce 
there,  is  springing  up  abundantly 
elsewhere.  Here,  and  not  only 
here,  in  other-  like  schools  in  the 
land,  but  I  must  say  more  especi- 
ally here,  where  I  can  almost 
think  myself  again  at  St.  Paul's, 
where  I  see  a  hundred  students 
under  the  same  discipline  and 
instruction,  under  the  fatherly 
care  of  one  who,  like  hia  next 


associate,  was  so  long  an  esteem- 
ed and  beloved  pupil — here, 
especially,  the  prayers,  the  toils, 
the  means  there  expended,  are 
accomplishing  their  end.  Noth- 
ing, then,  has  been  wholly  in 
vain;  none  of  those  labors  in 
the  name  of  the  Lord  have  been 
'  water  spilt  on  the  ground ' ; 
only  God  has  seen  fit  to  order  it, 
here,  amid  these  woods  and  hills, 
and  not  on  those  verdant  shores, 
the  walls  are  to  stand  not  des- 
tined to  be  only  ruins.  Here  is 
to  be  the  only  Church  College  in 
the  land.  Here  the  hopes  that 
floated  round  that  corner-stone, 
and  which  afterwards  seem  buried 
beneath  it  as  their   tombstone, 


48 


LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.       [Chap.  III. 


War  broke  up  St.  James's,  but  again  the  work  of  Dr. 
Muhlenberg  and  of  St.  James's,  modified  and  in  many 
ways  improved,  but  essentially  the  same,  took  a  new 
start,  and  still  lives  at  ISt.  PauVs  in  Concord,  New 
St  PauVsin  Hampshire.    For  it  was  his  friendship  with  Kerfoot  and 

New  Hampshire  ^  -r 

his  observation  of  the  actual  working  of  St.  James's, 
that  first  inspired  Dr.  George  C.  Shattuck,  of  Boston, 
with  the  thought  of  founding  a  similar  school  for  the 
Church,  in  New  Hampshire.  He  secured  for  its  head  one 
who  had  been  both  a  disciple  of  Dr.  Muhlenberg  and 
an  associate  of  Kerfoot  in  the  College  of  St.  J  ames 
— the  Rev.  Dr.  Henry  Augustus  Coit,  who, — working 
with  his  brother,  the  Vice-Rector,  also  a  St.  James's 
man — has  made  St.  Paul's,  what  it  is  to-day,  the 
most  famous  of  all  our  Church  schools.  So  that 
in  trying  to  understand  Dr.  Muhlenberg's  theories 
and  views,  and  in  reading  the  story  of  the  trans- 
planting of  College  Point  to  Maryland,  we  are 
going  over  the  origin  of  what  has  proved  to  be,  if 
not  one  of  the  most  showy,  yet  (what  is  far  better)  one 


have,  and  shall  have  their  fulfil- 
ment. Here,  as  we  looked  for  it 
there,  class  after  class  of  cadets 
of  the  army  of  the  Lord  shall  go 
forth  accoutred  for  the  battle  of 
life ;  whether  to  earn  the  laurels 
of  earthly  renown  or  not,  yet  so 
far  as  they  shall  follow  their 
training  here,  to  win  at  last  the 
crown  of  life.  '  One  man  layeth 
the  foundation,  another  buildeth 
thereon.'  Nought  but  thankful- 
ness should  fill  my  bosom  in  re- 
trospect. There  should  be,  there 
is,  no  room  for  regrets  as  to  the 
past.      Excuse   the   egotism    in 


which  it  is  so  easy  to  indulge ; 
the  very  gracious  terms  in  which 
I  was  invited  to  assist  on  this 
occasion  have  made  me  forget 
myself,  or  rather  to  remember 
myself  too  much.  But  it  were 
cold  to  suppress  the  emotions  of 
gratitude  that  a  school  like  St. 
James's  has  sprung  from  St. 
Paul's — the  offspring  bidding  fair 
to  outstrip  the  sire.  The  Lord's 
name  be  praised !  God  speed  you 
in  your  work !" — From  Dr.  MtthU 
enberg's  address  at  the  laying  of  the 
corner-stone  of  Kemp  Hall,  July 
31, 185L 


1843.]  OPENING  OF  ST.  JAMES'S  HALL.  49 

of  the  most  truly  beneficent  influences  in  Church 
education.  The  results  of  Dr.  Muhlenberg's  work,  so 
far  from  having  perished,  are  still  pointed  to  with 
pride  by  all  intelligent  churchmen,  and  it  is  safe  to  say 
that  the  names  of  Muhlenberg  and  Kerfoot,  as  well  as 
of  some  of  their  successors,  will  long  be  held  in  loving 
and  grateful  remembrance  for  their  labors  in  the 
cause  of  Christian  education. 

The  following  is  Dr.  Muhlenberg's 

Fareicell  to  Kerfoot. 

The  feelings  I  experience  at  the  departure  of  one  of  our 
Brothers,  who  has  so  hDug  been  a  faithful  and  beloved 
assistant  in  my  duties,  are  greatly  modified  by  the  interest 
which  the  occasion  possesses  in  another  point  of  view.  It  is 
the  commencement  of  a  mission  in  Christian  education.  It 
is  not  indeed  the  immediate  act  of  the  Church — I  vvish  it 
were — but  as  the  act  of  an  institution  recognized  by  the 
ecclesiastical  authority,  it  is  a  good  beginning,  and  a  step 
towards  that  which  I  believe  to  be  the  especial  duty  of  our 
Church  in  this  countr}'. 

I  have  long  been  of  the  opinion  that  Christian  education 
will  not  be  put  on  the  right  foundation  nor  extended  on 
sound  principles,  unless  it  be  done  by  the  Church,  and  com- 
mitted to  missionaries  appointed  to  the  work,  just  as  religion 
itself  is  propagated.  Missionaries,  considered  as  preaching 
the  Gospel  and  founding  the  Ciuirch  where  it  has  been 
unknown,  are  propagandists  ;  and  missionaries  as  conducting 
religious  education  are  conservandists ;  and  conservatism,  as 
well  as  propagation,  is  the  office  of  the  Cliurch.  The  sects 
may  think  only  of  expansion,  and  content  themselves  with 
communicating  a  knowledge  of  the  Gospel,  preaching  simply 
the  truth,'  and  so,  in  a  measure,  may  do  the  work  of  pioneers  ; 

'  Originally,  the  truth  as  they  I  are  erased  by  the  author  in  the 
call  it :  the  four  words  italicised        MS. 


50 


LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.       [Chap.  III. 


hut  the  Church  contemplates  the  duty  of  building  up  her  mem- 
be7-s  in  the  faith,  having  a  care  ocer  them,  and  training  them  by 
holy  habits  for  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven.  Education,  after  the 
first  auuouncemeiit  of  the  glad  tidiugs  of  the  Gospel,  is  her 
great  work.  She  labors  indeed  to  convert  sinners,  and  to 
bring  men  within  her  pale  ;  but  the  children  of  those  converted 
to  Christianity  and  brought  within  her  pale,  she  regards  as 
her  own,  and  without  wailing  for  a  subsequent  period  of  their 
'conversion,'  proceeds  to  bring  them  up  in  the  nurture  and 
The  Church  admonition  of  the  Lord.  To  accomplish  this,  she  must  have 
^herldwoh.  ^^^^  schools  and  literary  institutions.  Otherwise,  her  youth 
are  estranged  from  her  bosom  almost  as  soon  as  they  are  able 
to  imbibe  the  first  elements  of  learning.  The  true  way  of 
establishing  such  schools  is  by  employing  her  ministers  for  the 
purpose,  who  make  it  their  business  to  educate  the  young  in 
the  Christian  religion,  as  much  as  to  proclaim  that  religion  to 
the  adult  congregation. 

Our  literary  institutions  have  altogether  another  origin. 
They  are  either  commenced  and  organized  by  incorporated 
bodies  who  have  no  idea  of  the  model  of  a  Church  School,  or, 
if  they  have,  are  disqualified  from  adopting  it  by  legal 
restrictions ; '  or  else,  being  the  work  of  individual  enter- 
prise, they  depend  for  their  success  upon  contingencies 
incompatible  with  a  proper  degree  of  independence.     The 


'  It  is  hard  to  believe,  but  it  is 
the  fact  that  the  great  State  of 
New  York  in  those  days  thought 
it  sound  policy  and  liberal 
statesmanship  to  refuse  the 
power  of  conferring  academic 
degrees  (B.  A.,  M.  A.,  and  the 
like)  to  any  College  which  pro- 
fessed the  principles  of  any 
particular  "religious  denomina- 
tion." Dr.  Muhlenberg  thought 
his  Church  principles  so  much 
more  important  tlian  any  act  of 
incoiporation,  that  he  declined 
to  accept  a  State  charter  under 


these  vexatious  restrictions. 
Consequently,  graduates  of 
College  Point,  though  as  well 
instructed  as  their  companions 
at  Columbia,  Yale  or  Harvard, 
could  receive  no  college  degrees. 
After  St.  James's  was  founded, 
the  "College  Pointers"  (among 
them  Milo  Mahan,  J.  C.  Pass- 
more,  R.  S.  Howlaud,  Henry  A. 
Colt,  and  other  distinguished 
men)  received  at  St.  James's 
College,  from  the  hands  of  Dr. 
Kerfoot,  the  academical  degrees 
to  which  they  were  entitled. 


1843.]         OPENING  OF  ST.  JAMES'S  MALL.  51 

adventurer  in  Christian  education  (for  such  education  is 
becoming  one  of  the  adventures  of  the  day,  a  new  specula- 
tion, after  bubbles  in  the  mercantile  world  have  burst)  is 
seldom  in  a  situation  favorable  for  the  prosecution  of  his 
object  with  a  right  spirit.  In  most  cases  he  is  embarrassed  by 
debt,  incurred  by  the  cost  of  his  first  establishment,  and 
which  he  must  exert  himself  to  liquidate  by  the  avails  of  his 
business.  He  is  thus  weighed  down  by  a  burden  of  care  in 
addition  to  the  anxieties  of  his  calling,  which  surely  are 
heavy  enough  in  themselves.  He  must  ask  favors ;  he 
must  suit  himself  to  the  notions  of  his  ''  patrons  ''  ;  he  must 
yield  his  own  judgment ;  he  must  increase  his  numbers  ;  he 
must  retain  the  bad  as  well  as  the  good  ;  the  duty  of  excom- 
munication, that  must  be  exercised  in  the  School,  however 
the  times  will  not  allow  it  in  the  Church,  he  may  perform 
only  when  it  is  safe,  and  often  he  rnust  have  recourse  to 
expedients  to  which  he  would  never  stoop  but  in  justice  to 
his  creditors.  Xot  so  when  an  individual  goes  out  to  establish 
a  school  for  the  Cliurch,  not  as  an  enterprise  of  his  own  ;  he 
does  not  feel  that  he  must  shape  his  course  to  court  the 
popular  favor.  In  the  way  of  pecuniary  endowment  he  has 
nothing  to  lose  by  failure,  or  gain  b}'  success.  He  is  con- 
cerned simply  to  do  his  duty,  just  as  the  missionary  who 
preaches  the  truth,  whether  the  people  hear  or  whether  they 
will  forbear.  He  is  under  no  previous  obligations  to  the 
contributors  to  the  school ;  he  does  not  go  about  seeking 
scholars.  He  stands  in  a  position  which  enables  him  to 
gather  such  a  family  around  him  as  will  give  a  right  tone  to 
the  sentiments  of  the  school— a  correct  and  wholesome 
public  opinion  to  his  juvenile  community— instead  of  being 
obliged  to  admit  a  promiscuous  collection  of  all  that  are 
offered,  for  the  sake  of  making  sure  of  a  profit.  He  has 
instructions  ;  he  has  a  plan  marked  out  before  him,  and  he 
has  nothing  to  do  but  carry  it  out,  not  indeed  without  regard 
to  the  state  of  the  society  in  which  he  labors,  and  those 
considerations  of  prudence  and  Christian  love  and  charity 
which,  as  in  the  case  of  the  purely  Gospel  missionary,  will 
make  him  in  a  proper  sense  all  things  to  all  men. 


Pra''pects. 


52  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.      [Chap.  III. 

Such  is  the  beau  ideal  of  a  school  of  the  Church,  and  the 

Brigiit      present  is  the  first  attempt  to  realize  it.'    To  see  whether  it 

can  be  realized,  as  well  as  to  lend  a  helping  hand  to  our 

brethren  in  a  neighboring  diocese  who  have  sought  it,  T  confess 

has  been  one  strong  motive  for  engaging  in  the  undertaking. 

The  Bishop  of  Maryland,  anxious  to  commence  a  school  on 
the  same  principles  as  our  own,  did  us  the  honor  of  coming  to 
our  doors  and  earnestly  importuning  our  assistance.  An 
opportunity  for  making  a  right  beginning  had  providentially 
come  into  his  hands.  Buildings,  grounds,  and  all  the  means 
were  oft'ered  him,  if  he  could  only  procure  competent  men  to 
take  possession  of  them.  Naturally  we  could  not  but  feel  a 
liigh  degree  of  gratification  that  at  this  crisis  he  turned  to  us, 
and  did  not  hesitate  to  urge  his  suit  in  person.  As  we  had 
declined  similar  invitations  before  (none  indeed  so  pressing, 
nor  holding  out  so  much  encouragement),  and  as  this  seemed 
an  extraordinar}'  opening  for  extending  our  usefulness,  it 
became  a  question  whether  we  might  not  be  justly  suspected  of 
selfishness  if  we  persisted  in  refusing  to  do  anything  beyond 
our  immediate  bounds.  Education,  as  we  are  engaged  in  it, 
is  not  a  business  of  tlie  world,  to  be  conducted  on  the  common 
calculations  of  prudence.  It  is  a  work  of  charity  ;  and  charity, 
though  indeed  it  begins  at  home,  does  not  always  stay  at 
home.  Besides,  as  we  had  always  given  ourselves  some 
credit  for  missionarj'  zeal,  and  had  talked  of  a  Brotherhood  for 
Christian  schools,  we  knew  not  well  how  to  decline  an  oppor- 
tunity for  putting  our  professions  to  the  test.  On  this  account 
I  am  reconciled  to  a  separation  which  otherwise  would  be 
as  ill-judged  as  it  is  painful.  For  certainly,  if  we  take  into 
view  only  our  own  good,  tiiei'e  is  not  one  reason  why  our 
Brother,  either  as  a  minister  or  instructor,  should  leave  the 
place  which  Providence  seems  to  have  made  the  home  of  his 
labors,  as  it  has  been  the  home  of  so  many  of  his  3'ears. 

I  am  entering  upon  your  new  sphere  of  duty,   my  dear 


'  The  actual  fact,  as  far  as 
endowments  and  pecuniary  re- 
sources wero  concerned,  fell  very 


far  short  of  what  Dr.  Muhlenberg 
and  Mr.  Kerfoot  anticipated. 


1842.]  OPEXING  OF  ST.  JAMES'S  HALL.  o3 

friend,'  ....  I  doubt  not  you  feel  j^our  responsibilit}',  and 
how  much  j'our  success  is  connected  with  the  interests  of  right 
education  at  large,  and  tlie  honor  of  our  institution  in  par- 
ticular. With  you.  the  first  experiment  is  made  whether  the 
system  we  pursue  here  has  operated  so  well  as  the  eflect  of 
sound  and  living  principles,  or  of  circumstances  peculiar  to 
ourselves.  You  will  make  it,  as  far  as  can  now  be  seen,  with 
all  possible  advantages.  The  parties  in  Maryland  have  given 
every  security  that  you  shall  be  burdened  with  no  cares  but 
the  legitimate  ones  of  j'our  office.  The  devoted  and  influen- 
tial Bishop  of  the  diocese  will  be  to  you  counsellor,  firm  sup- 
port, and  affectionate  friend.  He  contemplates  St.  Jameses 
Hall  as  the  most  important  and  interesting  object  of  his 
Episcopal  cares.  You  will  have  for  your  principal  coadjutors 
and  junior  assistants,  worthy  brethren  in  the  ministry,  and 
some  of  your  old  friends  and  pupils  here.  You  have  had  all 
the  experience  that  can  be  had  beforehand.  Nothing  but 
further  trial  can  determine  how  far  you  are  qualified  for  the 
work,  but  we  are  all  sure  that  you  are  not  lacking  in  the  main 
qualification  of  an  honest  and  devoted  heart.  In  your  station 
as  Principal  you  will  acquire  a  new  experience  ;  you  will  deal 
with  parents  and  instructors  as  well  as  with  pupils.  How 
much  wisdom  you  will  need,  while  you  maintain  3'our  inde- 
pendence with  parents,  yet  to  S3'mpathize  with  their  affection 
for  their  children,  and  make  allowance  for  their  blind  partiali- 
ties ;  and,  while  you  support  the  authority  of  instructors,  to 
act  the  paternal  part  to  the  boy  ! 

But  I  will  not  detain  you  with  parting  counsels.  I  had  pre- 
pared them,"  but  to  go  over  them  at  this  time  seemed  a  piece 
of  formality  that  would  be  out  of  place  on  this  occasion,  and 
quite  unnatural  considering  our  past  relation.  Indeed,  all  that  I 
could  say  you  have  already  learned.  The  rest,  only  practice 
can  teach  you.  Experience  and  your  own  faithful  heart  will  say 

'  The  next  line  of  the  MS  is  •  Three  or  lour  pages  are  torn 

quite  illegible,    the  onlj-  words  out  at  this  point,  from  the  little 

that  can  be  deciphered    are    U-  school  copy-book  in  which  this 

tweeii  father  and  ion.  address  was  written. 


54  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.       [Chap.  III. 

to  you  day  by  day :  Be  patient ;  be  kind  ;  be  gentle  ;  be  long- 
suflering  ;  consider  every  little  trial  and  vexation  as  it  comes 
along,  as  a  little  cross,  to  give  you  some  opportunity  con- 
tinually for  following  after  Christ.  The  true  Christian  teacher 
has  a  burden  known  only  to  himself.  He  is  a  suflerer,  if  not 
a  confessor,  for  Christ.  Bear  all  things  for  His  sake  ;  expect  to 
make  sacrifice  of  your  time  and  your  convenience,  and  be  con- 
tent to  be  forever  accommodating  those  who  seldom  think  of 
accommodating  you.  "  If  ye  love  them  that  love  you,  what 
thank  have  ye  ?    Do  not  even  the  publicans  the  same  ?" 

May  the  Spirit  of  Christ  rest  upon  you  !  May  j'ou  be  guided 
in  all  things  by  the  Spirit  which  cometh  down  from  above! 

As  I  have  not  meant  this  an  occasion  for  farewell  advice, 
so  neither  do  I  take  it  for  giving  vent  to  any  farewell  emotions. 
This  is  not  the  time  for  such  things  ;  out  of  the  abundance  of 
the  heart,  indeed,  the  mouth  speaketh,  hut  the  heart  chooseth 
its  otvn  time  for  sj^aking.  It  would  be  a  suspicious  ceremony 
if  a  public  occasion  were  chosen  for  the  hearts  of  those  to 
speak  who  have  lived  together  for  thirteen  years  in  the  closest 
bonds  of  affection  and  esteem.  In  the  name  of  all  present  I 
bid  you  God-speed,  and  commend  you  to  His  blessing. 

Opening  day.  ^^  St.  James's  HaW''  was  formally  opened  on 
Monday,  October  3d,  1842.  The  following  is  from 
Bishop  Whittingham's  brief  journal  of  official  acts: 

"  St.  James's  Hall  Chapel.  Rev.  Mr.  Lyman  read 
Morning  Prayers,  Rev.  Mr.  Trevett  assisting  in  the 
Lessons ;  the  Rev.  Mr.  Kerfoot,  as  Principal,  announced 
the  Psalms,  and  I  read  the  Ante-Communion  Ser- 
vice. I  preached  on  Dan.  i.  IT  (secular  education 
subservient  to  religious).  I  used  Collects  from  the 
Consecration  and  Institution  Offices,  altered  to  suit 
the  occasion,  and  dismissed  the  congregation,  which 
filled  the  Chapel  and  adjoining  premises,  with  the 
Benediction.     Licensed  Robert  S.  Howland,  a  candi- 


r 


(C^,^,.^,^^  vJLx^  pvA-.-^      (L«-'-  UL^   '-'V- 


^-^S^ 


t^-*—^     VA-'Vwv^ «'>..X^  U/     U-A--v^A.'^>L*| 


<^i^ 


1842].  OPENING  OF  ST.  JAMES'S  HALL.  55 

date  for  Holy  Orders  in  the  Diocese  of  New  York 
(being  thereto  authorized  by  his  Bishop),  and  Dwight 
E.  Lyman,  a  candidate  for  Holy  Orders  in  this  Dio- 
cese, to  act  as  Lay  Readers  in  St.  James's  Hail  and 
the  vicinity,  under  the  direction  and  advice  of  the 
Principal,  with  the  consent  of  the  Rector  of  St.  John's 
Parish,  Washington  Co." 

The  letters  which  follow  will  give  some  account  of 
the  first  year,  which,  although  the  financial  difiiculties 
were  serious,'  ran  its  course  happily  until  the  health  of 
the  Rector  completely  broke  down.  A  recurrence  of 
his  former  complaint — bronchitis — made  preaching 
and  teaching  an  impossibility,  and  necessitated  a  short 
voyage  to  England.  His  absence,  as  will  be  seen,  was 
a  great  loss  to  the  Hall,  and  the  little  ship  came  near 
foundering  before  it  was  well  launched. 

Correspondence,  1842-1843. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Muhlenberg  to  the  Rev.  J.  B.  Kerfoot. 

Kew  York,  Octob.  25,  1842. 
My  Dear  John.— {Th&i\^,\i  yowv  wife  will  allow  anybody  ,^^^f '''"'''■ 
to  call  j'ou  "My  dear"  but  berself — please  remember  me 
most  lovingly  to  her) — I  have  too  much  faith  in  you  to  fear 
that  you  have  construed  my  silence  into  indifference  to  the 
delightful  beginning  you  have  made  at  St.  James's.  What 
j'ou  have  told  me  and  Van  B.  has  afforded  me  the  highest 
gratification,  and,  I  may  add  sincerely,  a  cause  of  devout 
thankfulness  to  God.     May  the  breath  of  His  favor  continue 

'  The  Kector  and  his  assistant  which  speaks  volumes  for  the  lack 

teachers  were  obliged   to  work  of  interest   in  Bishop  Whitting- 

without    salaries  at   flrst,  receiv-  ham's  plans  on  the  part  of  the 

ing  onh'  their  board   and  lodg-  diocese  in  general  in  those  early 

ing  from  the  Institution — a  fact  days. 


66  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.        [Chap.  III. 

to  fill  your  sails,  and  carry  you  prosperously  on  the  voyage 
which  I  know  you  have  begun  so  entirely  in  His  name ! 

You  do  right  to  enjoy  the  present,  and  to  feel  as  much 
encouraged  as  if  things  would  go  ou  always  as  smoothly  as 
they  have  beguu,  as  if  ihe  boys  would  always  be  as  kind  and 
docile,  as  if  little — who  is  it? — would  come  for  his  kiss,  and 
the  boys  all  come  to  "  noons  "  '  of  their  ovvn  accord  to  tiie 
end  of  the  story. 

What  good  would  it  do  to  be  thinkin?,  ''It  won't 
last."  Carpe  diem.  If  Eden  is  smiling  around  us,  why  stretch 
our  eyes  into  the  future  to  discern  clouds  to  darken  its  sun- 
shine?    Now  is  the  time  to  enjoy  your  garden,  for  if  now — 

It  be  not  redolent  with  opening  sweets, 

With  buds  of  seeming  fruit  and  hopeful  flowers, 

Coatiding  love,  ingenuous  honesty. 

Nature's  religion,  imitative  prajers. 

What  shall  It  be  when  poison  weeds  spring  up, 

And  the  old  serpent — scarcely  entered  yet — 

Shows  bj'  some  mischief  done  that  he  is  there? 

If  now  the  scene  be  not  supremely  fair. 

When  hope  and  zeal,  still  fresh,  and  buoyant  hearts, 

Make  sunshine  for  the  day 

What  shall  it  be  when  time  and  things  have  run 
Their  holiday  V — Esto perpetua  I 

You  see  the  very  thoughts  of  your  fairy  land  won't  let  me 
write  prose. 

Whether  T  shall  get  to  see  you  is  now  a  little  uncertain,  for 
I  have  lost  ten  days  [by  sickness,  as  he  proceeds  to  explain]. 
Thus  Van  B.  has  been  Major  Domo,  preacher  and  everything 
else,  so  that  I  shall  need  to  make  up  for  lost  time  as  soon  as 

I  get  back.    Still  I  have  not  given  up  the  journey 

The  new  arrangements  here  work  well Remember 

me  to  Rowland  and  to  Lyman.     I'll   copy   the   music   for 

the  latter  and  send  it  in  my  next Write  often. 

Yours  as  ever, 

W.  A.  M. 

'  The  short  voluntary  service  at  mid-day  in  the  chapel. 


1842.]  OPENING  OF  ST.  JAMES'S  HALL.  57 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Muhlenberg  to  ike  Rev.  J.  B.  Kerfoot. 

College  Poiut,  Dec.  13,  1842. 

Brother  icell  beloved,—  A.  happy  Christmas  to  you,  to  Eliza,  Affairs  at 
to  Jimmy,' to  that  dear  fellow,  Lyman,  to  all  in  the  Faith.  ... 

I  hear  in  difl'erent  ways  that  3-ou  are  getting  on  ver}' 
happily,  in  which  I  need  not  say  how  sincerely  I  rejoice.  I 
should  certainly  have  come  down  to  see  you,  but  the  new 
state  of  things  here,  together  with  a  week's  indisposition, 
render  it  quite  inconvenient.  I  know  you  have  not  miscon- 
strued it. 

Our  new  professor  has  turned  out  a  mean  fellow.  By  a 
manoeuvre  of  his  own  to  get  more  salary,  he  gave  me  a  fair 
chance  of  parting  with  him,  and  he  goes  at  the  beginning  of 
the  year.  He  came  from  an  enemy's  camp,  and  has  been 
doing  us  harm,  but  of  this  say  nothing.  And  who  do  you 
think  takes  his  place  until  I  have  time  to  look  about  me 't 
Barton !  verily,  J.  G.  B.  himself  has  kindly  consented  to 
spend  three  months  here  and  go  on  with  five  hours  a  day  in 
the  old  style,  so  that  I  shall  have  a  fine  chance  of  making  a 
choice 

I  am  beginning  to  be  afraid  of  Newman.  I  saw  part  of  a.  Begins  to  be 
letter  from  him  to  Williams  of  Schenectady,  in  which  he  says,  %iwman. 
"  Whether  the  Church  of  England  has  valid  sacraments  is  a 
question  of  fact ;  she  says  she  has  " — as  if  he  were  not  sure 
of  it.  Again:  "It  is  a  question  whether  they  ma}'  not  be 
defective  from  want  of  active  connection  witli  Rome,"  or 
words  to  that  eftect.  The  letter  is  about  L.  Woods's  coming 
into  the  Church,  who,  Newman  thinks,  ought  to  consider  the 
claims  of  the  Roman  Church  as  well  as  the  English.  You 
had  better  not  speak  of  this,  except  confidentiallj',  unless  you 
have  heard  it  from  another  source.  I  confess  it  has  made  me 
very  sad.  However,  before  that,  I  lost  ni}^  faith  in  the 
British  Critic  as  a  Church  of  England  journal.  With  them 
everything  in  our  Church  is  wrong,  and  all  is  right,  or  at  least 
defensible,  in  Rome. 

'  James  Kip  Andersou,  hiif  old  pupil. 


58 


LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.         [Chap.  III. 


I  have  seen  Johns's  manifesto'  on  the  night  of  his  institu- 
tion.    "Ye  know  not  what  manner  of  spirit  ye  are  of." 

In  the  last  Churchman  I  was  talcen  with  Coxe's  verses, 
and  set  to  work  to  alter  them  for  a  ballad  ["  Go  Ye  to  the 
Mountains  "]  for  the  boys  while  making  greens  for  the  chapel. 
I  have  set  them  to  simple  music  and  give  it  to  you  as  my 
Christmas  ofiering.  If  you  care  about  using  it,  L5'man  can 
arrange  it  for  the  piano.  ...  I  shall  think  next  week  that 
your  boys  and  ours  are  singing  together  of  an  evening.  .  .  . 

With  my  love  and  Van  Bokkelen's  (we  never  fight  now)  for 
all.  Yours,  most  aft'ectionately. 

W.  A.  M. 

Mr.  Milo  Mahan  to  the  Rev.  J.  B.  Kerfoot. 

Episcopal  High  School  [Philadelphia], 

October  22,  1842. 

Vkurch  qne^  ^V  Dear  Mr.  Kerfoot, — I  have  been  rather  long  about  con- 
da'tf,etc^'^  gratulating  you  on  two  subjects  of  congratulation,  as  they  are 
generally  estimated  in  this  world — your  accession  to  a  post  of 
so  much  responsibility  in  God's  Kingdom  as  that  which  you 
now  occupy,  and  your  arrival  at  that  happy  state  of  double 
blessedness  which  the  Apostle  calls  a  great  mystery,  and 
which  we  poor,  disconsolate,  onesided,  ribless  bachelors  can 
only  look  upon  with  awe  and  admiration. 

I  have  the  greatest  feeling  of  sympathy  for  all  connected 
with  our  old  brotherhood,  I  look  with  sincerest  interest  upon 
every  movement  at  the  Point,  and  I  not  unfrequently  run  the 
risk  of  being  called  Oxfordite  and  Puseyite,  and  all  sorts  of 


'  Alluding  to  a  sermon  by  the 
Rev.  H.  V.  D.  Johns,  Rector  of 
Christ  Church,  Baltimore,  enti- 
tled, "The  Protestant  Episcopal 
Pastor."  It  was  preached  on  a 
Sunday  night  (the  23d  Sunday 
after  Trinity,  1842)  and  was  de- 
eigned  as  a  reply  to  a  sermon  on 
the  "  Priesthood  in  the  Church," 


which  had  been  preached  that 
very  morning  by  Bishop  Whit- 
tingham  in  Christ  Church,  on  the 
occasion  of  the  institution  of  Mr. 
Johns  as  rector!  —  a  fair  speci- 
men of  the  opposition  to  the  new 
Bishop  which  prevailed  in  Mary- 
land at  that  time  among  church- 
men of  a  certain  party. 


1842.]  OPENING  OF  ST.  JAMES'S  HALL.  59 


jaw-cracking  epithets,  merely  for  defending  "  Old  Billy"  (for 
by  that  irreverent  name  I  can't  help  calling  him  to  mind,  it 
brings  up  so  vividly  the  scenes  of  the  past)  from  the  insinua- 
tions of  those  who  scatter  all  sorts  of  suspicion,  like  mud, 
upon  every  one  who  professes  to  love  Christ's  holy  Bride,  or 
to  guide  their  footsteps  in  the  well-trod  paths  of  the  Prayer- 
Book. 

My  own  mind  is  by  no  means  at  ease  on  most  of  the 
weighty  subjects  of  inquiry  which  God  has  laid  open  to  the 
Church.  On  many  of  them  I  have  read  and  searched  the 
Scriptures,  and  prayed  and  endeavored  to  set  my  face  unto 
the  Lord  God  by  spiritual  exercises  and  honest  obedience  to 
what  I  judge  to  be  the  will  of  Christ.  But  it  troubles  me  to 
find  that  my  most  honest  and  solemn  convictions  are  often  so 
difl'erent  from  those  of  others  who  love  the  Lord  Jesus,  and 
who  are  in  every  way  entitled  to  my  reverence  and  regard. 
At  the  same  time  I  can  truly  say  that  since  the  time  when  I 
first  set  ni}-  heart  towards  learning  more  definitely  ray  duties 
and  responsibility  as  a  member  of  Christ's  Bod}- — the  Church — 
I  have  felt  a  confidence  and  consolation  in  believing,  which  I 
never  experienced  before  :  that  I  have  felt  as  forcibh'  as 
though  it  were  some  new  thing  untaught,  unheard  of  before, 
the  beauty  and  serenity  of  soul  which  follows  on  unhesitating 
obedience  ;  that  my  mind  has  been  freed  from  many  of  those, 
cares  and  fitful  feelings  and  imperfect  notions  which  I  used  to 
battle  with  before  I  had  learned  the  lesson,  which  I  presume 
you  are  now  becoming  versed  in,  of  simple-hearted  fidelity  to 
the  commands  of  the  Church  and  her  noble  Book  of  Worship. 

But  still  I  am  grieved  that  so  many  excellent  persons 
around  me  diflfer  from  me  toto  coelo  in  their  notions,  and  I 
may  add  too,  in  their  practice  ;  they  cannot  see  how  a  dutiful 
following  of  the  Church's  directions,  in  matters  confessedly 
unimportant  in  themselves,  but  important  as  enjoined  by  her 
and  calculated  by  God's  blessing  to  fix  the  soul  and  keep  it 
"  tethered  "  to  the  truth,  may  be  consistent  with  perfect  faith 
and  love 

Is  it  not  passing  strange  that  when  young  lambs  of  Clirist's 


60 


LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT. 


[Chap.  III. 


fold,  baptized  into  His  Holy  Name,  but  wandering  and  famish- 
ing for  want  of  proper  keeping^  come  among  us,  we  dare  not 
tell  them  they  are  Christ's;  that  they  are  sealed  as  God's, 
received  into  sonship  with  God  and  membership  with  Christ, 
and  are  therefore  bound  to  do  what  their  sponsors  promised 
for  them,  but  are  obliged  to  explain  away  the  catechism  by 
means  which  any  clear-headed  boy  will  see  are  disingenuous, 
and  to  teach  that  when  the  Prayer-Book  sa3's  positicely 
"made  members  of  Christ  and  heirs  of  eternal  life,"  it  only 
means  conditionally  —  I  say  is  not  all  this  strange  and 
wonderful  to  think  of?  ....  I  have  said  a  good  deal  more 
than  I  bargained  for  when  I  began  this  letter.  Again  I  say, 
that  God  may  prosper  you  in  the  work  which  you  have  com- 
menced in  His  name  is  the  earnest  prayer  of  one  who  looks 
with  interest  to  all  that  comes  from  St.  Paul's. 

Your  sincere  friend,  M.  Mahan. 

P.  S. — I  hear  a  great  deal  about  Mr.  Lyman'  and  his  Oxford 
doings.  Among  other  things  I  learned  the  other  day  from 
very  high  authority  that  on  Good  Fridays  he  walks  in  solemn 
manner  up  the  aisles  with  two  lighted  candles, which  he  formally 
sets  upon  the  altar  with  various  ceremonies  of  an  impressive 
character.  Is  this  so?  And  if  so,  what  does  it  mean?  And 
may  I  take  the  liberty  to  enquire  do  you  think  this  is  right? 
Is  it  calculated  to  promote  Christ's  Kingdom  at  this  time  when 
men  have  to  be  '"  working  at  the  walls  with  one  hand,  and 
wielding  the  sword  with  the  other,"  to  be  prejudicing  people 
against  solemn  truths  by  ceremonies  which,  however  signifi- 
cant or  impressive,  are  not  worth  a  stiver  compared  with  the 
weightier  matters  in  which  this  age,  holding  the  truth  in 
tt«x"ighteousness,  is  deficient?  If  you  can  spare  me  a  moment 
in  your  many  cares,  I  should  like  to  hear  your  answer  to  these 
questions ;  not  that  I  want  to  catechise  you,  but  I  am  an 
enquirer,   and  anxious   to  know  the  tendency  of  doctrines 


'  Rector  of  St.  John's  Cburcb, 
Hagerstown.  The  passage  is 
given  as  a  specimen  of  the  gossip 


then  current  about  church  mat- 
ters in  Maryland,  and  also  for  the 
sake  of  Mr.   Mahau's  reflections. 


1843.]  OPENINe  OF  ST.  JAMES'S  HALL.  61 

which  everybody  around  me  abuses,  and  which,  partly  from 
old-fashioned  liking  for  Dr.  M.,  and  partly  that  I  see  a  great 
deal  in  them  that  pleases  me,  and  I  think  has  done  me  good, 
I  am  sometimes  forced  to  defend.     Very  truly. 

M.  M. 

The  Bisliop  of  Maryland  to  the  Rev.  J.  B.  Kerfoot, 

Baltimore,  July  11,  1843. 

My  Dear  Kerfoot, — I  have  long  been  wishing  to  write  to  you,  progpects  of 
but  induced  to  postpone  it  b}'  various  occurrences.  'cL^chafair-s. 

In  the  first  place,  let  me  thank  you  for  your  continuation  oi~^^P''J'J  ■^^''' 
Education  Catholic.  [Two  articles  in  the  True  Catholic, 
edited  by  Hugh  Davey  Evans.]  Through  evil  report  and  good 
report,  with  the  warm  friendship  of  a  noble-hearted  few,  and 
the  bitter,  rankling  enmity  of  many,  I  trust  in  God  and  a 
good  cause  to  see  our  Education  Catholic  finally  triumphant. 
Among  other  encouragements,  it  was  no  small  one  to  receive 
last  Friday  a  present  of  $200  towards  the  present  needs  of 
the  Hall  from  B.  O.'s  fatlier ;  sent,  too,  of  his  own  mere 
motion,  when  on  the  point  of  leaving  the  country.  It  suffi- 
cientl}^  indicates  what  he  thinks  of  the  advantages  his  boy 
enjoys,  for  that,  I  have  reason  to  fear,  is,  if  not  the  only,  at 
least  the  main  spring  of  his  generosity.  You  may  well  feel 
cheered  onward  by  such  tokens  of  satisfaction  from  those  who 
alone  can  testify  from  knowledge  of  the  character  of  the 
school. 

The  indications  around  us  of  a  fierce  and  wide-spread  storm 
are  many.  Thank  God,  our  cork  boat  has  a  snug  harbor  so 
near  in  view,  when  it  is  about  arising.  The  Hall  is  now 
almost  started,  and  once  started  it  cannot  fail,  let  what  con- 
troversies may  distract  the  Church,  with  due  prudence  on  the 
part  of  those  who  manage  it 

You  have,  no  doubt,  heard  of  our  triumph  in  the  Board  of 
Missions.  I  should  fill  sheets  were  I  to  narrate  all  the  ins 
and  outs  of  it.  They  must  be  reserved  either  for  conversation 
or  for  another  letter.  I  now  write  on  business,  and  it  is 
enough  to  say  that  we  can  rejoice  together  in  the  continuance 


62  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.         [Chap.  III. 

of  the  Constantinople  Mission  {not  as  tiie  Eecorder  falsely 
has  it,  "for  the  present"  merely),  and  of  Southgate  as  its 
worth}'  manager. 

Of  the  miserable  affair  about  Carey,  too,  I  could  tell  much — 
some  things  that  would  make  your  heart  ache,  but  I  took  my 
pen  for  another  purpose.  It  was  to  say  that  now  I  have  an 
approaching  prospect  of  a  settlement  of  the  pecuniary  matters 
of  St.  James's 

Last,  not  least,  let  me  share  your  joy  and  thankfulness  at 
taking  a  7iew  place  in  the  Kingdom  of  our  Lord,  that  of  the 
fatlier  of  an  immortal  spii-it.'  Beautiful  is  the  expression  of 
the  Eastern  tale  :  ^  and  he  went  in  and  congratulated  his  wife 
on  her  safety,  and  said  to  her,  Where  is  God^s  deposit  9 
Whereupon  she  presented  to  him  an  infant  of  surpassing  love- 
liness, the  work  of  the  Ever-Present  Governor."  (Lane's 
Thousand  and  One  Nights,  II,  252.)  May  your  precious 
deposit  become  in  your  keeping  a  goodly  jewel  for  the  Lord's 
own  treasury! 

Mr.  Tilghman,  too,  has  a  man  child,  though  of  the  second 
race,  to  be  thankful  for.  If  she  is  with  you  (which,  strange 
to  say,  I  do  not  know  whether  she  be  or  no),  please  to  con- 
gratulate her  from  me.  To  you  and  yours  I  offer  my  most 
hearty  congratulations.     To  Russell,  Dvvight,  Kip,   Samuel 

and  all  the  boys  my  hearty  love Affectionately  your 

W.  R.  \V. 

The  Rev.  J.  B.  Kerfoot  to  the  Bishop  of  Maryland. 

St.  James's  Hall,  July  13,  1843. 
My  Dear  Bishop, — Both  your  letters  reached  me  last  evening, 
and  call  for  my  thanks.  We  all  unite  in  thanks  for  your 
prompt  acquiescence  in  the  proposition  for  October.  I  will 
myself  be  on  the  spot  until  our  vacation,  which,  by  advice  of 
all,  begins  this  year  on  the  25th,  St.  James's  Day.  You  will 
be  in  charge  during  October,  and  Mr.  Trevett  will  easily  hold 

'  Referring  to  the  birth  of  Mr.  Kerfoot's  first  child,  Abel  Andersou 
Kerfoot,  born  July  3,  1843. 


1843.]  OPENING  OF  ST.  JAMES'S  HALL.  63 

the  helm  when  the  ship  is  fairly  at  sea  for  the  one  month  of 
November 

All  the  arrangements  of  duties,  classes,  etc.,  are  under- 
stood to  be,  of  course,  subject  to  you  when  here,  and 
alterable  to  accommodate  any  wish  you  may  have  as  to 
teaching,  etc.,  etc 

Will  you  prepare  and  enclose  to  me  a  commendatory  letter 
in  general,  with  such  allusion  to  my  peculiar  work  as  may 
open  school  doors  to  me?  and  any  letter  to  individuals  will 
be  very  acceptable  to  me,  though  my  short  stay  will  limit  my 
use  of  such  testimonials. 

Mrs.  Kerfoot  unites  with  me,  dear  Bishop,  in  the  grateful 
acknowledgment  of  your  kind  wishes  and  Christian  blessing 
upon  us  and  our  dear  child.  Both  mother  and  child  are 
doing  very  well ;  so  well  that  I  feel  deeply — would  that  I 
might  alwajs  feel  practically — my  great  debt  to  our  merciful 
Parent.  Mrs.  K.  will  return  with  her  parents  to  New  York 
about  the  end  of  August,  and  await  my  arrival  from  Europe 
early  in  November.  Would  it  be  right  in  me  to  ask  of  you 
the  favor  to  request  Bishop  Doane  to  commend  one  of  your 
clergy  to  the  notice  of  some  whom  he  met— Dr.  Hook,  Mr. 
Newman  ?     Any  such   letters  might  be  sent  to  the  care  of 

A.  T.  Anderson,  Esq.,  5  Broad  Street,  N.  Y 

Your  aftectionate  son  in  Christ, 

John  B.  Kebfoot. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

VISIT    TO    ENGLAND. 
1843.     Aetat.  27. 

The  "  Hall  "  had  opened  with  about  twenty  schol- 
ars, and  the  first  year  was  fairly  prosperous,  although 
some  people  opposed  the  whole  scheme,  as  they  at 
first  did  many  of  Bishop  Whittino;ham'8  plans,  as 
being  "Tractarian"  and  "Puseyite."  The  Rector's 
assistants  during  the  first  year  were  Rev.  Russell 
Trevett,  Dwight  E.  Lyman,  Robert  S.  Howland,  J, 
Kip  Anderson,  and  Samuel  H.  Kerfoot :  to  these 
were  added  in  a  few  years,  Reuben  Riley,  George  W. 
Coaklay,  Professor  of  Mathematics;  R,  H.  Clarkson, 
and  Joseph  C.  Passmore. 

In  the  spring  of  1843,  as  has  been  already  men- 
tioned, tlie  Rector's  health  became  enfeebled  by  a 
return  of  his  old  enemy,  bronchitis,  which  had  given 
him  much  trouble  during  the  last  two  years  at  College 
Point.  A  voyage  to  Europe  having  been  decided 
upon,  he  sailed  in  the  packet  Independence  (Captain 
Nye),  reaching  Liverpool  in  seventeen  days.  He  took 
with  him  some  valuable  letters  of  introduction,  some 
of  them  to  the  prominent  leaders  in  the  "  Oxford 
movement,"  Dr.  Pusey,  Mr.    Newman'    and    others, 


'  "Right  into  the  arsenic-bot-    I    he  mentioned  these  letters  on  the 
tie!"  said  Mr.  Raymond,  one  of       eve  of  sailing, 
his  friends  in  New  York,  when 


1843.]  VISIT  TO  ENGLAND.  65 

"who  received  him  courteously,  and  in  whom  Kerfoot 
was  much  interested. 

In  London  he  had  the  gratification  of  joining  his 
dear  friend  and  school-father,  Dr.  Muhlenberg.  With 
him  he  made  several  delightful  visits,  especially  one  to 
Oxford.  Of  this  visit  a  brief  account  will  be  found  in 
the  delightful  memoir  of  Dr.  Muhlenbergby  Miss  Ayres. 
Unfortunately  several  important  letters  relating  to 
this  visit  to  England  have  been  lost — in  particular 
one  describing  his  visit  to  Dr.  Newman,  made  in  com- 
pany with  Dr.  Muhlenberg.' 

After  this,  Kerfoot  spent  a  few  days  in  Scotland, 
and  then  visited  his  mother's  relatives  in  Ireland. 

The  return  voyage  was  made  in  the  ship  Sheffield :  ^'^^p^''^^'^- 
it  was  long  and  stormy.  Just  at  the  end  of  it,  when 
near  land,  and  while  the  vessel  was  in  charge  of  the 
pilot,  they  were  stranded  on  the  Romer  Banks,  and 
were  for  thirteen  hours  in  imminent  danger  of  death. 
The  ship  gradually  settled  in  deep  water ;  the  boats 
were  found  worthless,  and  the  rockets  sent  up  were 
not  seen.  The  last  rocket  was  reserved  for  some 
time.  Meanwhile  the  passengers  had  been  driven  by 
the  intruding  water  to  the  deck,  seeking  refuge  on 
boxes,  tables  and  chairs  piled  up  as  high  as  possible, 
and  their  only  hope  now  was  that  this  last  rocket 
might  attract  notice.  With  much  trepidation  and 
after  solemn  prayer,  it  was  at  length   sent   up   and 

'  Dr.  Muhlenberg'3  acute  obser-  of  Newman."    The  K.  in  Dr.  M.'s 

vation   and  comments  on  New-  i    letter,   quoted   on  p.  167  of  his 

man's  conversation  and  demean-  j    Life,  stands  for  Kerfoot,  and  it 

or  will    be   read  with    interest.  would  have  added  to  the  interest 

Kerfoot,    at   that  time,   did  not  ■    of  a  very  graphic  letter  if  the 

altogether  agree  with  Dr.  M.    He  name  had    been  printed  out  in 

thought  Dr.  M.  "  too  suspicious  full. 


66  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.         [Chap.  IV. 

was  seen.  A  gentleman  driving  along  the  shore  in 
his  bnggy,  some  miles  off,  saw  the  signal,  knew  at 
once  what  it  meant,  and  hastened  to  the  city  to  give 
notice.  In  the  meantime  the  pilot's  mate  was  begin- 
ning to  be  alarmed  at  the  long  delay,  and  a  steamboat 
had  been  sent  in  search  of  the  missing  vessel.  The 
boat  returned  after  an  unsuccessful  search  of  two  or 
three  hours,  but,  on  receiving  the  gentleman's 
message,  another  was  immediately  despatched,  which 
found  the  sinking  vessel  just  in  time  to  save  the 
passengers  and  crew.  The  ship  was  afterwards  raised 
and  the  water-soaked  boxes  and  baggage  returned  to 
the  owners.  Many  a  stained  volume  recalled  in  after- 
times  the  thrilling  experience  of  that  day.  The 
captain  and  passengers  gave  grateful  testimony  to  the 
comfort  and  help  given  them  in  their  time  of  sore 
anxiety  by  the  example,  prayers  and  teaching  of  the 
young  clergyman  who  was  their  fellow-passenger. 
Many  a  warm  letter  or  remembrance  came  to  him  in 
after-years.  One  touching  incident  of  those  hours  of 
peril  Mr.  Kerfoot  often  spoke  of.  A  bright  little  girl 
of  three  years  had  been  the  delight  and  pet  of  all  on 
the  ship.  When  the  water  began  to  come  over  the 
floor  of  the  cabin  she  ran  to  the  captain  in  great 
indignation,  to  ask  why  he  did  not  send  some  one  to 
mop  up  the  water  from  the  floor !  Her  perfect 
unconsciousness  of  the  awful  danger,  which  was  so 
present  to  the  minds  of  all  the  anxious  company, 
brought  a  burst  of  tears  and  sobs  from  the  captain 
and  many  even  of  the  men  ;  after  that,  all  were  quiet 
and  orderly  and  composed,  though  death  was  expected 
every  instant. 


1843.]  VISIT  TO  ENGLAND.  67 

The  rough  voyage  ending  in  such  excitement,  ar- 
rested the  benefit  received  from  the  previous  voyage 
and  travel,  and  Mr.  Kerfoot,  though  obliged  to  hurry 
at  once  to  St.  James's,  where  his  presence  was  much 
needed,  was  not  able  to  resume  his  full  duties  as  a 
teacher  and  preacher  for  some  months. 

Forty  years  ago  a  visit  to  England  was  not  the 
common  thing  that  it  now  is.  The  year  1843,  too, 
was  a  memorable  period  in  the  history  of  the  English 
Church,  and  the  home  letters  of  Kerfoot  give  a 
pleasing  account  of  the  first  impressions  of  England 
upon  an  enthusiastic  churchman,  bright,  intellectual, 
fully  alive  to  all  the  new  and  interesting  objects 
around  him,  and  enjoying  keenly  every  moment  of 
his  travel. 

Correspondence. 

To  Mrs.  Kerfoot. 

Cabin  of  the  Independence,  Aug.  11,  1843. 

....  Thus  far  everything  has  been  delightful.     In  spite  of 

all   my  anticipations,  I   have  not  been  sea-sick My 

room-mate  is  a  very  kind  and  cheerful  gentleman,  a  merchant 
of  Mobile  —  evidently  a  pious,  warm-hearted  Presbyterian. 
....  I  cannot  convey  to  you,  dearest  E.,  my  impression  of 
the  exceeding  beauty  of  the  ocean,  as  it  now  is.  and  borne 
onward  as  we  are  by  such  steady  strong  winds,  specially  on 
full,  bright  moon-light  evenings.  O  !  how  I  long  when  I  walk 
the  decks  to  have  you  with  me.  M}'  room-mate  and  several 
others  are  in  the  same  predicament  with  myself — lonely 
widowers ;  wives  and  little  ones  are  frequently  and  fondly 
mentioned  among  us. 

Captain  Nye  is  a  splendid  officer,  but  he  says  such  weather 
as  this  will  make  him  rusty.  Not  an  oath  has  yet  been  heard 
among  our  men,  and  but  one  of  our  cabin  company  has 
approached  it.     I  have  had  one  Puseyite  battle;  did  no  harm. 


66  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.         [Chap.  IV. 

was  seen.  A  gentleman  driving  along  the  shore  in 
his  buorgy,  some  miles  off,  saw  the  signal,  knew  at 
once  what  it  meant,  and  hastened  to  the  city  to  give 
notice.  In  the  meantime  the  pilot's  mate  was  begin- 
ning to  be  alarmed  at  the  long  delay,  and  a  steamboat 
had  been  sent  in  search  of  the  missing  vessel.  The 
boat  returned  after  an  unsuccessful  search  of  two  or 
three  hours,  but,  on  receiving  the  gentleman's 
message,  another  was  immediately  despatched,  which 
found  the  sinking  vessel  just  in  time  to  save  the 
passengers  and  crew.  The  ship  was  afterwards  raised 
and  the  water-soaked  boxes  and  baggage  returned  to 
the  owners.  Many  a  stained  volume  recalled  in  after- 
times  the  thrilling  experience  of  that  day.  The 
captain  and  passengers  gave  grateful  testimony  to  the 
comfort  and  help  given  them  in  their  time  of  sore 
anxiety  by  the  example,  prayers  and  teaching  of  the 
young  clergyman  who  was  their  fellow-passenger. 
Many  a  warm  letter  or  remembrance  came  to  him  in 
after-years.  One  touching  incident  of  those  hours  of 
peril  Mr.  Kerfoot  often  spoke  of.  A  bright  little  girl 
of  three  years  had  been  the  delight  and  pet  of  all  on 
the  ship.  When  the  water  began  to  come  over  the 
floor  of  the  cabin  she  ran  to  the  captain  in  great 
indignation,  to  ask  why  he  did  not  send  some  one  to 
mop  up  the  water  from  the  floor !  Her  perfect 
unconsciousness  of  the  awful  danger,  which  was  so 
present  to  the  minds  of  all  the  anxious  company, 
brought  a  burst  of  tears  and  sobs  from  the  captain 
and  many  even  of  the  men  ;  after  that,  all  were  quiet 
and  orderly  and  composed,  though  death  was  expected 
every  instant. 


1843.]  VISIT  TO  ENGLAND.  67 


The  rough  voyage  ending  in  such  excitement,  ar- 
rested the  benefit  received  from  the  previous  voyage 
and  travel,  and  Mr.  Kerfoot,  though  obliged  to  hurry 
at  once  to  St.  James's,  where  his  presence  was  much 
needed,  was  not  able  to  resume  his  full  duties  as  a 
teacher  and  preacher  for  some  months. 

Forty  years  ago  a  visit  to  England  was  not  the 
common  thing  that  it  now  is.  The  year  1843,  too, 
Avas  a  memorable  period  in  the  history  of  the  English 
Church,  and  the  home  letters  of  Kerfoot  give  a 
pleasing  account  of  the  first  impressions  of  England 
upon  an  enthusiastic  churchman,  bright,  intellectual, 
fully  alive  to  all  the  new  and  interesting  objects 
around  him,  and  enjoying  keenly  every  moment  of 
his  travel. 

CORRESPONDENCK. 

To  Mrs.  Kerfoot. 

Cabin  of  the  Independence,  Aug.  11,  1843. 

....  Thus  far  everything  has  been  delightful.     In  spite  of 

all   my  anticipations,  I   have  not  been  sea-sick My 

room-mate  is  a  very  kind  and  cheerful  gentleman,  a  merchant 
of  Mobile  —  evidently  a  pious,  warm-hearted  Presbyterian. 
....  I  cannot  convey  to  you,  dearest  E.,  my  impression  of 
the  exceeding  beauty  of  the  ocean,  as  it  now  is,  and  borne 
onward  as  we  are  by  such  steady  strong  winds,  specially  on 
full,  bright  moon-light  evenings.  O  !  how  I  long  when  I  walk 
tbe  decks  to  have  you  with  me.  My  room-mate  and  several 
others  are  in  the  same  predicament  with  myself — lonely 
widowers ;  wives  and  little  ones  are  frequently  and  fondly 
mentioned  among  us. 

Captain  Nye  is  a  splendid  officer,  but  he  says  such  weather 
as  this  will  make  him  rusty.  Not  an  oath  has  yet  been  heard 
among  our  men,  and  but  one  of  our  cabin  company  has 
approached  it.     I  have  had  one  Puseyite  battle;  did  no  harm, 


70  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.         [Chap.  IV. 

England^  written  some  seven  or  eight  years  later, 
when  Bishop  Coxe,  too,  was  young  and  enthusiastic. 
But  one  is  also  struck  with  the  young  traveller's 
intelligent  curiosity  and  good  judgment  about  many 
other  matters — every  new  thing,  in  fact,  that  he  met— 
and  with  his  acute  observations  upon  the  people  and 
customs  of  which  he  had  read  much,  but  which  he  had 
never  before  seen.  The  whole  correspondence  shows 
him  to  have  been,  even  at  that  early  age,  a  well-read, 
highly  cultivated  man. 

He  was  charmed  with  the  scenery  on  his  first  stage- 
coach journey.  "  It  was  raining  more  or  less  all  day — 
true  English  weather  ;  but  the  country  was  beautiful 
beyond  anything  I  had  ever  seen.  Deep  rich  green, 
every  inch  fully  cultivated  ;  rich  hedges  of  thorn,  or 
smooth,  strong  walls  of  stone,  and  very  few  wood 
fences;  innumerable  residences,  displaying  great  taste 
and  care,  and  a  few  splendid  mansions ;  five  old 
churches,  with  their  tall  grey  spires,  and  now  and 
then  an  old  English  town  or  hamlet — all  combined  in 
making  my  day's  journey  of  120  miles  very  gratifying 
to  me."  The  next  night  (Aug.  29th)  he  writes  from 
Coventry  to  his  wife,  telling  her  that  he  feels  entitled 
to  a  good  night's  sleep,  inasmuch  as  since  he  rose  he 
had  explored  Stratford-on-Avon,  Warwick  Castle  and 
Church,  Keuilworth  Castle,  and  Old  St.  Michael's 
Church  in  Coventry.  His  description  of  Stratford-on- 
Avon  may  be  given  as  a  specimen  of  many  like 
instances  of  his  minute  observation  : 

"Truly  this  has  been  a  day  of  days  to  me,  full  of  excite- 
„    .  ment  and  deep  "[ratification.     Before  breakfast  I  walked  to 

house.  "  Shakespeare's  house,''  where  he  was  born.    It  would  be  not 


1843.]  VISIT  TO  ENGLAND.  71 

only  difficult  for  me  to  attempt  description  of  that  and  most 
I  have  seen  to-day,  but  useless,  as  books  and  plates  are 
abundant,  over  which  you  and  I,  I  hope,  will,  ere  long, 
pore  and  talic.  Well,  I  entered  the  old  house  of  the  poet, 
opening  with  the  old-fashioned  two  half-doors  into  the  room 
long  used  as  a  butcher  shop,  floored  with  flag  stones.  Then 
up  stairs,  under  the  old  lady's  guidance,  into  the  veritable 
natal  room,  remaining  apart,  a  sacred  spot.  Of  this  and  the 
house  I  bought  lithographs  from  the  old  lady,  in  the  very 
room.  These,  as  well  as  lithographs  of  the  fine  old  Church 
and  chancel  where  he  lies  buried,  and  which  I  visited  after 
breakfast,  I  will  bring  ho'me  with  me.  The  Church  is  a  noble 
pile,  more  than  200  feet  long,  built  at  or  before  the  Norman 
Conquest,  in  1060  to  1070,  repaired  lately ;  but  the  chancel, 
with  the  stalls  of  the  monks,  remains  now  as  for  750  years 
before.  Before  the  chancel  lie  Shakespeare,  his  wife,  his 
daughter  and  son-in-law  (Dr.  Hall),  who  wrote  the  wife's 
epitaph  (for  her  daughter).  The  avenue  to  the  church  is  fine, 
wide,  paved  with  flags  and  arched  over  with  lime  trees.     But 

I  hurried  on  to  the  stage  for  Warwick 

.  .  .  Soon  after  leaving  Stratford,  a  gentlemen  inside  stopped 
the  coach  to  get  on  the  outside.  I  was  already  there  (and  it 
will  rain  hard  before  I  again  coop  myself  inside  through  this 
fine  country),  when,  looking  down,  I  recognized  Mr.  Conrad, 
of  Louisiana,  a  fellow-passenger  in  the  Independence.  We 
hailed  each  other  with  no  little  joy,  found  our  plans  coincide, 
and  so  kept  together  all  day.  We  are  now  sitting  together  in 
our  little  parlor  at  the  Craven  Arms. 

Warwick  Castle  is  described  at  some  length,  and 
next  comes  Kenilworth. 

The  village  of  the  same  name  is  a  long  hamlet,  nearly  a  Kenilworth. 
full  semicircle  of  a  mile.  The  castle,  in  its  wild  ruins,  is  the 
most  deeply  thrilling  sight,  of  all  secular  ones,  which  I  have 
ever  seen  or  expect  to  see.  We  bought  the  plans  and  roamed 
there  more  than  three  hours,  until  we  explored  and  fixed  the 
localities  of  every  ruin.    One  we  missed  seeing,  a  part  of  the 


72  LIFE  OE  BISHOP  KERFOOT.         ;[Chap.  IV. 

large  hall,  to  which  no  stranger  is  likely  to  find  access.  We 
thought  when  we  left  we  had  seen  everything ;  what  we 
missed  was  not  much.  We  both  searched  and  gazed,  and 
recalled  its  history  until  we  agreed  that  the  sight  was  pay  in 
full  for  crossing  the  ocean.  Our  romance  cost  us  our  dinner. 
....  Here,  in  Coventry,  we  have  as  yet  seen  only  tlie 
noble  old  pile,  the  Cathedral,  the  most  ancient,  mighty,  solemn 
House  of  the  Most  High  I  ever  entered.  O,  there  is  religion  in 
its  very  walls  !  They  seem  as  though  unearthly  from  their  mas- 
siveness  and  height  and  distance  of  view.  Strange  tombs 
and  knightly  figures,  often  defaced  at  the  Reformation,  are 
here  ;  but  not  these,  but  the  mighty  House  of  Jehovah,  the 
accumulated  offerings  of  piety — now  alas!  no  more — this 
engrosses  the  mind.  But  good-night ;  my  love  to  dear  wife, 
and  boy,  and  all. 

London,  Fenton's  Hotel,  Aug.  31,  1843. 
St.  JUariin'n     Well,  dear  wife,  after  a  day  and  a  half  here  I  must  dot 
'««  /y.      down.     Yesterday  morning  before  breakfast  I  went  to  see  a 

church  in  Coventry  still  older  than  St.  Michael's I 

hunted  up  the  old  sexton,  down  a  lane  I  could  have  stepped 
across  (for  many  of  the  streets  of  this  ancient  city  are  very 
narrow),  and  found  a  very  comical  old  shoemaker,  who  was 
quite  ready  to  do  the  honors  of  St.  Martin's.  He  pointed  out 
some  old  mural  tablets,  and  the  huge  font,  and  amused  me  by 
showing  how  Dr.  'ook  (Hook,  now  of  Leeds,)  the  former 
rector ''used  to  duck  the  adults' heads  down  into  the  font"  .  .  . 
We  went  into  a  chapel  in  a  transept,  whose  ceiling,  like  that 
of  the  church  is  of  most  curiously  carved  wood  ;  but  the 
chapel  is  now  a  lumber-room  ;  and  upon  my  remarking  a 
trap-door  in  the  floor,  the  old  man,  con  amore^  got  down  on 
his  knees,  opened  the  trap-door,  saying  there  were  bones  down 
there ;  and  there  he  showed  me  the  packed  repository  of  all 
the  bones  of  centuries,  of  those  found  beneath  the  church 
at  its  repair.  The  cellar  was  filled  up  to  the  door,  and  the 
old  man  very  coolly  picked  up  some  specimens  of  mightier 
bodies  than  most  of  ours  now-a-days  are,  and  showed  them. 
I  experimented  upon  his  superstition,  but  found  he  had  none, 
gave  him  his  sixpence  and  went  back  to  my  breakfast. 


1843.]  VISIT  TO  ENGLAND.  73 

Hence  to  London  by  the  railroad  through  a  fine  country — 
all,  all  like  a  well  cultivated  garden,  not  an  inch  lost. 

At  Messrs.  Barings  he  found  letters — "  O  how 
precious !  " — from  home,  and  several  from  Dr.  Muhlen- 
berg from  Paris.  The  Doctor  was  going  with  his  two 
companions  to  Brussels,  but  dropped  the  plan  to  see 
Kerfoot  as  soon  as  he  heard  of  his  coming  over.  They 
met  in  London  early  in  September.  "And  what  shall 
I  say  of  this  mighty  world  ? — for  London  is  a  world  by 
itself.  All  my  ideas  2ivefar  transcended  ;  my  surprise 
and  delight,  and  entertainment  and  profit,  I  will  not 
waste  room  in  telling.  As  to  descriptions — guide-books, 
and  these  notes  jogging  memory  by-and-bye,  will  do  it 
far  better."  The  day  on  which  he  wrote  this  (Aug. 
31)  was,  like  Tuesday,  "  a  day  never  to  be  forgotten  ; 
having  been  devoted  chiefly  to  Westminster  Abbey." 

Mr.  Lowndes,  of  New  York,  led  the  party.  We  Avere  Wtsimimter 
happy  in  securing  through  Mr.  L.  the  attention  of  the  chief  ^^' 
superintendent  of  the  Abbey,  who  told  us  everything. 
Henry  VII's  Chapel  you  have  a  plate  of,  but  I  can  only  say 
that  one  overpowering  feeling  after  another  filled  the  hours 
from  12  to  4  we  spent  there.  As  we  left,  the  superintendent 
overtook  us,  and,  having  evidently  taken  a  fancy  to  us,  pro- 
posed a  visit  to  the  Chapter  House,  where  all  the  old  state 
records  are  kept.  You  will  imagine  our  delight  at  a  privilege 
usually  obtained  only  by  an  order  from  some  high  state 
officer.  Well,  we  saw  and  handled  the  original  Dome's  Day 
Book  of  William  the  Conqueror,  now  750  years  old.  one  folio, 
and  one  8vo  volume  ;  the  original  treaty  between  Henry  VII 
and  Francis  of  France,  and  the  Golden  Seal  of  the  treaty, 
beautifull}'  cut,  with  the  words  on  one  side  Phirima  servantur 
foedere^  cuncta  Jide,  "  Yery  many  things  are  preserved  by  a 
league,  all  things  by  faith."  ....    [Many  other  curiosities  are 


74  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.        [Chap.  IV. 

then  meutioned.]  This  evenuig  weut  with  Mr.  Lowudes  to  call 
on  Mr.  Everett ;'  very  polite.  To-morrow  ofl'  to  Windsor,  but 
never  forgetting  my  dear  home,  all  dearer  to  me  now  than 
ever.  But  I  do  enjoy  myself  very  much,  and  I  have  right 
good  company 

Teuton's  Hotel,  London,  Sept.  2,  1843. 
....  Yesterday  morning  we  six  —  Messrs,  Lowndes, 
Conrad,  Folsom,  Pell,  Johnson  and  J.  B.  K. —  met  at  Pad- 
dington,  whence  the  railway  cars  took  us  to  the  Windsor 
station.  Windsor,  town  and  palace,  are  three  miles  distant. 
According  to  the  horse-killing  practice  here,  we  six  and  the 
driver  went  in  a  "•%"  with  one  horse.  This  was  the  only 
vehicle  at  hand,  and  the  poor  beast  seemed  used  to  it.  How- 
ever, very  many  of  English  di-ay-horses  are  elephants  in  size 
and  power.  Just  at  the  entrance  of  the  town  we  passed 
Eton,  the  famous  school ;  but  there,  as  everywhere  now, 
vacation  has  made  the  place  desolate.  So  we  saw  nothing  but 
what  was  visible  as  we  passed  the  tine  old  buildings. 
Windsor.  Very  unfortunately,  too,  we  came  to  Windsor  Palace  on 
the  very  day  of  the  week  when  much  of  it  is  closed  to 
visitors  —  Friday,  when  the  Queen  is  there,  Tuesday  also. 
However,  we  saw  all  the  outside,  ascended  the  Round  Tower, 
and  went  into  St.  George's  Chapel.  This  is  line  rather  than 
grand  —  too  much  gew-gaw  on  the  ceiling.  The  most  striking 
sight  was  in  the  nave,  where  the  most  beautiful  and  im- 
pressive piece  of  sculpture  any  of  us  has  seen  here,  met  our 
view  —  the  cenotaph  of  Princess  Charlotte,  daughter  of  George 
IV.  She  is  represented  as  she  lay  dead  upon  her  bed  a  few 
hours  after  the  birth  of  her  child.  Her  full  form  appears 
perfect  as  nature  itself  through  the  sheet  thrown  over  her. 
Four  female  attendants  bow  in  grief,  covered  like  herself,  at 
the  corners  of  her  bed.  Above  she  is  bursting  from  the  gates 
of  the  tomb,  ascending  upwards,  an  angel  on  either  side,  one 
of  whom  bears  her  infant  with  her  to  heaven ;  every  figure 

'  Hon.  Edward  Everett,  the  American  Minister  at  the  Court  of  St. 
James. 


1843.]  VISIT  TO  ENGLAND.  75 

as  large  as  life.  In  the  choir  the  present  Prince  of  Wales 
was  baptized.  I  then  stood  on  the  tombs  of  Henry  VIII, 
Charles  I,  etc.,  and  at  another  place  on  the  present  royal 
vault,  where  lie  George  I  and  II,  etc. 

....  This  morning  Mr.  Lowndes  wrote  us  word  that  he  st.  James's 

'  P(1-IQC€ 

had  secured  us  an  entree  to  St.  James's  Palace  and  the 
gardens  of  Buckingham  Palace.  We  went  at  11  A.  M.  The 
former  is  plain  rude  brick  outside,  but  the  suite  of  rooms 
within  is  royalty  indeed.  Gilt  and  crimson  damask  make  up 
the  furniture,  rich  Turkey  carpets  cover  the  floors  ;  yet  now, 
(says  Ml'.  Halse,  the  Queen's  state  page,  who  admitted  and 
conducted  us)  they  are  about  expending  £30,000  in  refitting 
the  four  rooms.  The  paintings  by  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  and 
others  earlier  and  later,  are  very  fine.  Every  monarch  from 
Henry  VIII,  and  some  before  him,  hang  on  the  walls.  There 
are  besides  numerous  historical  paintings.  Mr.  Halse  described 
the  whole  ceremony  of  the  Queun's  levees  as  we  stood  at  the 
foot  of  the  throne,  and,  among  the  others,  I  took  my  seat  on 
the  throne  of  Great  Britain^  as  well  as  on  Her  Majesty's 
grand  cliair  in  another  room.  We  saw  everything  tliere,  old 
and  new ;  only  tlie  chapel  we  could  not  i?ee,  as  the  person 
having  charge  was  unfortunately  absent.  In  it  the  Queen 
was  married.  Thence  to  Buckingham  Palace  gardens.  Buckingham 
Buckingham  Palace  is  now  the  royal  town  residence.  St.  "'^''^' 
James's  is  used  only  on  state  occasions,  as  the  suite  of  rooms 
is  better  than  any  in  Buckingham  Palace.  Of  the  gardens 
here,  covering  40  acres,  I  can  write  no  description ;  they  are 
beautiful  indeed.  Tamed  fowls  of  many  kinds  throng  the 
land  and  lakes,  and  flowers  grovv  in  regular  but  profuse  rich- 
ness. Uf  these  flowers  I  plucked  some  for  you.  You  will 
value  them.  I  know,  less  as  coming  from  the  Queen's  gardens 
than  as  from  me. 

We  peeped  into  her  conservatory,  library,  etc.;  of  course, 
no  admission  to  this  palace.  An  admission  to  St.  James's 
and  to  these  gardens  is  a  privilege  seldom  allowed  even  to 
Englishmen  ;  but  Mr.  Lowndes's  polite  zeal,  and  the  very 
great  coiu-tesy    evidently    accorded    to    us    as    respectable 


76  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.        [Chap.  IV. 

Americans,  opened  us  the  doors.  We  saw  next  the  royal 
mews  or  stables.  The  greatest  sight  were  the  twelve  state 
horses,  six  cream-colored,  six  jet  black,  of  Hanoverian  breed, 
the  fiercest-looking  horses  I  had  ever  seen.  Also  the  Queen's 
carriages,  four  costing  each  dElOOO  ;  the  one  she  rode  in  at  her 
wedding,  and  in  which  she  was  when  the  third  attempt  at 
her  life  was  made,  was  shown  us.  Also  the  huge  state 
carriage,  of  which  I  got  a  description.  It  is  immense — 24  feet 
long,  8  ft.  3  in.  wide,  12  ft.  high,  etc.,  splendidly  gilt  and  its 
panels  covered  with  Italian  paintings  ;  it  is  now  81  years  old. 
The  old  keeper  softened  his  heart  and  told  us  we  might  take 
a  seat  in  it  if  we  only  said  nothing  of  it  about  here.  We  did 
so  ;  but  don't  tell  any  one  who  will  betray  the  old  gentleman 
over  here.  Her  Majest}''  only  uses  tliis  in  going  to  Parlia- 
ment, etc.  We  slipped  into  her  riding-school  building,  where 
she  and  others  exercise  even  after  dark,  there  being  gaslights 
there. 

This  afternoon  I  set  out  to  see  about  my  books.  On  the 
way  I  stopped  to  see  Rev.  Mr.  Hawkins,  who  called  on  me 
Archdeacm  yesterday.  There  I  met  at  the  door  Rev.  Benjamin  Harrison, 
Harruon.  Archbishop  of  Canterbury's  chaplain,  who,  suspecting  who  I 
was,  accosted  me,  saying  he  was  just  on  his  way  to  see  me. 
So  we  three  chatted  awhile.  Mr.  Hawkins  engaged  me  to 
breakfast  with  him  on  Monda}',  and  dine  on  Thursday  next, 
at  which  latter  time  he  will  get  together  all  he  can  to  meet 
me — most  folks  are  out  of  town.  I  meet  Mr.  Harrison  at 
Lambeth  on  Tuesday  next.  So  you  see  I  am,  one  way  and 
another,  well  attended  to.  Englishmen  are  anything  else 
than  cold  and  reserved.  Ask  me  about  the  Queen's  charac- 
ter, temper,  mind,  etc. ;  her  domestic  doings  and  hours ; 
Prince  Albert,  etc.,  and  I  shall  be  able  to  tell  you  much 
which  I  cannot  find  time  to  write.  But  good-bye,  dear  wife, 
and  boy  and  all,  for  the  present. 

Tuesday^  Sept.  5,  2  P.  M. — I  have  just  returned  from  a  very 
gratifying  visit  to  Lambeth  Palace,  where  I  had  the  honor, 
and  still  more,  the  pleasure  of  an  introduction  and  quite  a 
pleasant,  familiar  talk  with  the  venerable  Archbishop  of  Can- 


1843.]  VISIT  TO  ENGLAND.  77 

terbury.  But  first  to  keep  the  tliread  of  ray  story.  On  Satur- 
day afternoon  I  rode  to  several  booksellers  and  left  lists  of 
such  books  as  I  wished  to  buy,  they  promising  to  send  me 
prices,  etc.,  etc.  While  on  this  errand,  passed  through 
Paternoster  Row,  though  I  did  not  know  it,  until  afterwards 
recalling  the  number  of  bookstores  I  found  where  I  had  been. 
All  the  bookstores  here  fall  far  short  of  those  in  New  York 
in  point  of  show.  Rivington's  is  a  very  second-rate  store  in 
appearance,  and  Wiley  So  Putnam's  not  one-sixth  the  size 
and  show  of  their  house  in  New  York. 

In  the  evening  Mr,  Conrad,  Mr.  Johnson  and  myself  went  Mad.  Tusmud. 
to  Mad.  Tussaud's  wax-figure  rooms  in  Portman  Square, 
doubtless  the  greatest  of  the  kind  in  the  world.  Of  this,  as 
of  every  sight  I  visit,  I  try  to  preserve  the  catalogue  and  thus 
secure  the  best  and  fullest  memoranda.  Here  are  in  full  the 
coronation  scene  of  the  Queen,  her  marriage ;  Napoleon 
grouped  among  all  who  aided  or  opposed  him,  the  mighty 
man  clad  in  the  identical  ordinary  dress ;  George  IV  at  his 
coronation,  in  Ms  coronation  robes,  etc.,  etc.  Often,  amid  the 
crowd,  I,  as  well  as  others,  was  for  a  while  in  doubt  as  to 
which  were  and  which  were  not  living  forms.  Madame  Tus- 
saud  was  at  the  entrance,  and  I  sat  down  and  talked  with  her 
before  leaving.  She  is  82 ;  has  been  42  years  in  England, 
and  framed  all  these  figures  herself.  She  was  in  prison  three 
months  with  Josephine,  and  told  me  slie  knew  that  putting  her 
away  was  Napoleon's  downfall ;  before  that  he  always  con- 
sulted her.  Napoleon  she  knew  intimately  ;  conversed  with 
him  the  evening  after  his  return  from  Egypt.  She  was  in  all 
the  horrors  of  the  French  Revolution,  as  her  "  Room  of 
Horrors"  shows — where,  not  feeling  well,  my  nerves  could 
not  sustain  me  amid  figures,  almost  living,  of  wasted,  haggard 
prisoners,  the  murdered,  the  suicide,  and  in  the  centre  Marat, 
taken  by  herself  within  half  an  hour  after  his  deatli,  his  hand 
grasping  the  knife  still  in  his  right  breast,  covered  in  blood. 
I  hurried  away.  Below  is  the  veritable  travelling  carriage  of 
Napoleon.  "Get  in,  sir,"  said  the  boy;  so  in  I  went,  and 
saw  one  by  one  all  the  conveniences  for  eating,  resting, 


78  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.       [Chap.  IV. 

writing,  etc.,  of  one  who,  with  the  mightiest  intellect,  proved 
his  race's  greatest  foe.  Another  room  yet  is  full  of  his  relics, 
of  which  I  have  the  printed  list.  Amid  them  he  lies,  in  wax, 
on  the  very  bed  on  which  he  died — a  death,  who  that  looks 
beyond  the  grave  could  wish  to  share  ?  .  .  .  . 

Sunday  morning  I  attended  service  at  8  o'clock  in  the 

Ch(ij)ei  Boyai.  Cha.pe\  Royal  in  St.  James's  Palace,  feeing  the  porter  a 
shilling,  to  be  one  of  four  who  made  up  the  congregation. 
Full  service  (except  Is^  Lesson  and  Te  Deum)  and  sermon, 
plain  but  good,  on  "Submit  yourselves  to  God."  There  are 
two  other  services  here  on  Sundays,  at  12  and  5.30,  which 
are  better  attended.    The  Duke  of  Wellington  never  misses 

the  8  o'clock  service  when  in  town 

This  morning  I  rode  to  79  Pall  Mall   (pronounced   Pell 

Mell),  to  call  on  Mr.  Hawkins  —  (who  had  just  called  on  me 

and  missed  me).    There  I  met  Mi\  Jacobson,'  vice-principal 

of  one  of  the  colleges  at  Oxford,  of  some  high  repute  as  a 

iamftew.  scholar.     Went  to  Lambeth  Palace,  where  Mr.  Harrison,  his 

Adp.  Hmvley.  Grace's  chaplain,  was  expecting  me.  After  some  time  spent 
in  conversation,  Mr.  H.  who  was  watching  some  interval  in 
the  Archbishop's  engagements,  in  the  meanwhile  took  me 
through  the  palace,  where  I  saw  the  chapel  where  Bishops 
White,  Provost  and  Madison  were  consecrated  by  Archbishop 
Moore,  whose  portrait,  with  all  those  of  the  Archbishops 
from  the  Reformation  to  this  time,  I  saw  ;  also  the  Lollard's 
Tower,  the  rings  for  the  prisoners,  and  their  names  cut 
there,  &c.  At  last  Mr.  H.  found  the  moment  of  leisure,  and 
soon  returned  with  word  that  "  his  Grace  would  be  happy  to 
see  me."  Arclibishop  Howley  gave  me  a  warm  and  familiar 
welcome,  and  talked  ver}'  kindly  of  my  tour  and  my  health, 
the  English  and  American  Churches.  I  handed  him  Bishop 
Whittingham's  commendatory  letter,  which  he  said  he  liked 
very  much  —  it  was  very  right,  ju^t  like  the  old  commendatory 
letters  of  primitive  times.  He  charged  me  witli  very  kind 
messages  to  Bishop  VV.,  with  many  thanks  for  his  Charge  and 
Sermons  on  the  Priesthood  which  I  gave  him  ;  and  gave  me, 

*  Tbe  late  Bishop  of  Chester. 


1843.]  VISIT  TO  ENGLAND.  79 

very  warmly^  as  we  parted,  his  best  wishes  for  my  full  restora- 
tion to  a  full  measure  of  health,  &c.  So  that  among  all  the 
crowded  incidents  of  my  stay  here  thus  far  this  may  rank  first. 
I  aft'ect  no  indifl'erence  to  the  honor,  but  I  do  feel  much 
greater  delight  at  the  proof  of  kindly  feeling  to  our  Church ; 
and  the  whole  demeanor  of  this  venerable  apostle,  now  77 
years  old,  who,  next  in  rank  to  the  Queen,  is  of  marked 
simplicity  in  manner,  address  and  dress^  the  latter  being  that 
of  a  very  plain  —  not  a  gay  —  Quaker.  Mr.  Harx-ison  rode 
with  me  to  Pall  Mall,  where  he  gave  me  a  letter  to  Rev.  Dr. 
Mill  at  Cambridge,  where  I  go  to-morrow.  Dr.  Mill  was  head 
of  the  (Church)  College  at  Calcutta,  and  is  reputed  the  most 
learned  man  in  England.  While  writing  here  now  I  have 
received  letters  (from  Liverpool)  introducing  me  to  the  Vice- 
Chancellor  and  to  Prof.  Sedgwick,  of  Cambridge.  Kindness 
crowds  upon  me.  England  and  her  Church  will  be  pleasant, 
very  pleasant  in  the  remembrance  to  me.  I  look  now  for 
Dr.  Muhlenberg  every  hour.  I  feel  well  now  and  have  no 
fear  of  my  being  otherwise.    Good-bye,  dear 

Friday,  9  A.  M.,  Sept.  8.     st.  PavVs 

CathedTal. 

....  Thence  to  St.  Paul's,  where  I  saw  all  that  its  vast 
nave  and  mighty  dome  presents.  The  monuments  are  fewer 
and  less  interesting  by  far  than  the  older  Abbey  of  West- 
minster. The  arcliitect,  Sir  Christopher  Wren,  lies  nearly 
under  the  choir  door  ;  of  him  they  significantly  say  nothing  — 
after  his  name,  &c. —  but  '^  Lector,  si  requiris  monumentum, 
cu-cumspice."  "Reader,  if  thou  askest  his  monument,  look 
around."  To  ascend  the  dome  was  my  wish,  but  I  felt  un- 
equal to  the  fatigue 

AVednesday  morning  I  set  out  at  7.30  o'clock  in  a  cab  4J 
miles  to  the  railroad's  terminus  in  London  for  Bishop  Strat- 
ford —  33  miles  —  accomplislied  in  \\  hours.     Theuce  by  stage 

to  Cambridge,  26  miles  in  3  Iiours.     I  had  the  day  before  ,.  .      .,     . 
,   .  "^  L  niversity  of 

received  letters  to  the  Vice-Cliancellor  of  Cambridge,    and  Cumbridi,e. 

Prof.  Sedgwick  from  Rev.  Mr.  Conybeare,  of  Liverpool,  and 

one  to  Rev.  Dr.  Mill,  residing  there,  formerly  piiucipal  of 


80 


LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.        [Chap.  IV. 


Bishop's  College,  Calcutta.  The  Yice-Chancellor  I  found 
Dr.  Wheireii.  residing  in  Trinity  College  Lodge.  He  is  Rev.  Dr.  Whewell, 
author  of  the  first  Bridgewater  Treatise,  reputed  to  be  a 
very  superior  scholar  —  tall  and  dignified  in  his  personal 
manners,  though  not  of  a  prepossessing  face.  He  was  very 
polite  to  me,  asked  me  at  once  to  dine  in  the  College  Hall  at 
four,  and  soon  rose  to  lead  me  through  his  parlors,  adorned 
with  portraits  of  their  great  men,  and  then  through  the 
grounds  to  the  College  Library.  This  occupies  a  magnificent 
room,  and,  like  all  their  great  libraries  here,  is  arranged  in 
alcoves,  each  filled  with  books  of  one  kind.  Some  of  these 
alcoves  were  locked.  These  he  opened  and  showed  me  very 
curious  manuscripts — a  book  full  of  letters  of  Sir  Isaac 
Newton,  chiefly,  I  saw,  referring  to  his  Principia ;  Barrow's 
Sermons  in  the  volumes  in  which  he  wrote  them,  of  very 
small  page,  but  in  a  clear  hand  ;  but  most  curious,  the  original 
drafts  in  Milton's  own  hand  of  his  Comus  and  other  smaller 
pieces,  odes,  &c.,  and  his  Jlrst  sketch  of  Paradise  Lost  in  the 

shape  of  a  drama,  which  it  seems  was  his  first  idea 

Next  I  saw  the  Chapel ;  in  the  ante-chapel  is  the  famous 
statue  of  Sir  Isaac  Newton.  Little  else  was  remarkable 
there  but  the  altar  arrangements — the  same  everywhere  in 
England — "  so  horridly  popish !"  How  I  should  love  to  see  a 
pack  of  Baltimore  gossips'  turn  pale  at  the  fine  altars,  and 
paintings,  and  generally  the  two  tall  candles  on  the  altar — 
and  all  this  too  in  Cambridge,  not  Oxford ! 


'  The  allusion  is  to  the  oppo- 
sition in  those  days  on  part  of 
Rev.  H.  V.  D.  Johns  and  his 
friend  to  Bishop  Whittingham. 
Every  improvement  in  church 
architecture  recommended  by  the 
Bishop,  even  in  matters  seen  in 
all  churches,  High  and  Low,  in 
England,  was  stigmatized  as 
"  Tractarian,"  Puseyistic, Popish, 
etc.  So  it  was  in  Hagerstown, 
when  the  Rev.  T.  B.  Lyman 
made  a  few  very  simple  changes 


in  the  chancel — among  other 
things,  introducing  a  Bishop's 
chair,  with  a  mitre  carved  upon 
it.  The  Diocese  of  Maryland  was 
shaken  to  its  very  foundations  by 
"  the  Hagerstown  question"  for 
two  or  three  years.  Hagerstown 
has  now  one  of  the  most  beauti- 
ful, churchly  edifices  in  the  whole 
diocese,  recently  completed  by 
Mr.  Baldwin,  of  New  York,  as  a 
memorial  to  his  wife,  formerly 
Miss  Roman,  of  Hagerstown, 


1843.]  VISIT  TO  ENGLAND.  81 

N'ext  I  walked  by  myself  through  the  University  Library,  and 
saw  and  recognized  the  original  portrait  of  Henry  Martyn, 
My  visits  to  libraries  were  of  course  a  slow  walk  to  gaze  at 
thousands  of  precious  books,  well  arranged  and  preserved, 
and  to  remember  how  such  places  look.  After  some  rest  at 
the  Eagle  Hotel  I  set  out  to  dine,  stopping  half  an  hour  at 
King's  College  Chapel,  the  finest  building  at  Cambridge.  It 
was  built  by  the  Henries,  6th,  7th,  and  8th,  and  in  some 
respects  surpasses  any  such  edifice  I  have  seen.  I  went  up 
on  its  roof  and  had  a  full  view  of  Cambridge.  The  Chapel  is 
300  feet  long,  of  great  height ;  inside  one  has  the  full  view 
the  whole  length  of  its  curiously-wrought  stone  ceiling, 
all  arched  work  of  cut  stone.  Trinity  Church  in  New  York 
will  not  approach  it,  I  am  sure.  Kext, — to  Kev.  Mr.  Carus.  -St-r.  Mr.  Cams. 
Dean  of  Trinity,  to  whom  the  Vice-Chancellor  had  introduced 
my  name  by  a  note  ;  but  of  my  pleasant  evening  I  must  write 
again,  to-day  if  I  can.     Good-bye  all. 

Ill  P.  M.  same  day,  Sept.  8. — To  anticipate,  dear  E.,  a 
little,  after  a  busy  day,  I  found  at  3  P.  M.,  at  Dr.  Muhlenberg's 
bankers,  that  he  had  been  there  and  got  a  note  I  had  left 
there  for  him  :  so  hastening  home  I  found  he  had  called 
at  Fenton's  and  left  me  a  note  naming  the  hour  when  he 
would  be  in  here  at  Wood's  Hotel.  So  I  not  only  came  to 
see  him,  but  brought  my  trunks  too,  and  found  him  standing  at 
the  entrance  looking  for  me.  I  need  not  say  how  rejoiced 
we  both  are  to  meet,  how  vre  have  walked  and  talked  together. 
We  are  both  right  happy.— But  to  go  on.  I  have  met  nowhere, 
to  say  the  least,  a  warmer  reception  than  from  Mr.  Carus ; 
he  took  my  hand  in  both  of  his  and  I  was  at  home  with  him 
at  once.  We  went  to  the  College  Hall— a  fine  old  room, 
some  three  stories  high,  with  an  old  oak  ceiling,  all  built  250 
years  since.  There  I  met  several  Fellows,  and  after  a  Latin 
grace  read  from  a  tablet  responsively  by  Mr.  Carus  and  one  of 
the  Fellows,  we  sat  down,  only  some  15  of  us,  as  it  is  now 
vacation,  to  a  very  excellent  dinner  and  pleasant  con- 
versation. The  tables  were  around  the  large  room,  and 
women  in  bonnets  were  at  side  tables  to  make  ready  the 


82  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.        [Chap.  IV. 

dishes  which  the  genteel  old  men-waiters  brought  us.  A  Latin 
grace,  read  by  two  scholars,  ended  the  meal,  at  which  all  sat 
in  their  college  robes.  Mr.  Carus  then  devoted  himself  to 
me,  and  we  went  to  his  rooms,  where  he  showed  me  the  manu- 
scripts he  is  preparing  for  a  life  of  good  old  Mr.  Simeon,  his 
well-known  predecessor  in  the  University  Church.  He  read 
me  extracts  from  Mr.  Simeon's  diary,  a  letter  of  Henry 
Martyn,  etc.,  etc.  Walked  along  the  Cam,  which  would  do 
for  a  little  creek  at  home,  but  is  here  as  beautiful  as 
it  is  famous.  We  went  to  his  church,  where  Simeon, 
Martyn,  and  Thomason  had  labored,  and  where  their  tablets 
stand  ;  where  much  good  has  been  done  the  last  50  years. 
After  promising  to  breakfast  with  Mr.  Carus  next  morning 
I  called  on  Rev.  Dr.  Mill,  to  whom  I  had  a  letter,  formerly 
Principal  of  Bishop's  College,  Calcutta,  a  thorough  Church- 
man, which  Mr.  Carus  is  not.  With  him  and  Mrs.  Mill  I 
spent  the  evening  and  took  tea.  They  were  very  kind,  and 
Dr.  Mill  gave  me  a  letter  to  the  Bishop  of  Edinburgh.  Next 
morning  I  set  out  for  London.  The  ride  was  very  delightful, 
through  fine  country  and  romantic  old  villages  with  their 
neat  thatched  cottages.  One  thing  is  seen  everywhere  in 
Evglish  lore  for  England — great  love  for  flowers — the  poorest  cottage  has 
1  oiven.  them;  I    do    not    know    that    I    have    seen    one    without 

them.  The  harvest  is  not  yet  all  in  ;  but  one  is  struck  by 
seemg  women  and  children,  often  more  than  100  in  a  field, 
gleaning  after  the  reapers,  a  proof  at  once  of  the  poverty  of* 
the  poor  and  the  charity  of  the  farmer,  who,  I  believe,  is 
expected  to  leave  something  behind  in  his  field  for  the 
gleaners.  England  is  all  a  beautiful  garden,  but  the  poor 
are  very  many  and  very  destitute.  I  spent  the  afternoon  in 
running  about  on  business, and  the  evening  in  dining  at  Mr. 
Hawkins's  with  a  pleasant  company  of  Oxford  clergymen, 
whose  talk  of  old  times  at  their  college  amused  and  informed 
me  very  much.  While  at  table  in  came  Rev.  Mr.  Sewall,  of 
Canada,  whom  we  met  at  Lake  George,  you  will  remember, 
and  he  and  I  talked  over  our  home  and  fri»  nds.  He  too  is 
here  for  his  tliioat.  But  I  feel  lired  and  dull,  and  so  wil. 
stop  now,  with  love  and  good-night  to  you  and  all. 


1843.]  VISIT  TO  ENGLAND.  83 

London,  Wood's  Hotel, 
Saturday  Evening,  Sept.  9,  8-9  o'clock. 

Well,  Dearest  E.,  I  am  now  going  to  continue  my  prosy 
letters — for  prosy  I  know  they  often  are — yet  I  feel  the  less 
anxiety,  as  I  am  sure  the  one  for  whom  they  are  especially 
written  will  not  think  them  so.  Dr.  Muhlenberg  is  soon  to 
come  to  my  room,  so  I  must  move  my  pen  rapidly.  Yester- 
day morning  I  wrote  for  you  until  about  10  A.  M.,  when  I 
went  up  to  the  British  Museum — (here  I  resume  after  two 
hours'  very  pleasant  conversation  with  my  good  old  father, 
who  has  just  left  my  room). 

At  the  Museum  I  asked  for  Rev.  Mr.  Richards,  who  was  at  BniMii 
Mr.  Hawkins's  dinner  the  evening  before  and  offered  his  ^ 
useful  services  to  me  in  the  Museum,  of  which  he  is  an  officer. 
I  wished  first  to  see  about  an  investigation  which  Bishop 
Whittingham  had  asked  me  to  make  for  him,  so  Mr.  R.  at 
once  took  me  to  the  Rev.  Thos.  Hart  well  Home,  the  author 
of  the  '■'■Introduction,^^  which  you  well  know.  Mr.  H.  met  me 
very  kindly — a  right  neat  and  venerable  old  man.  As  the 
books  needed  were  in  his  department,  we  set  out  at  once  and 
walked  through  rooms  immense  in  length  and  height,  filled 
with  books  to  the  ceiling,  in  all  300,000  volumes,  yet  any  one 
of  these  is  found  and  brought  at  once  to  a  visitor  by  means  of 
catalogues  marking  fully  the  exact  place  on  the  exact  shelf  of 
every  volume  and  every  tract.  The  book  I  asked  to  see  was 
Archbishop  Parker's  presentation  copy  of  his  Antiquities 
given  by  him  to  Queen  Elizabeth.  Mr.  Home  got  it,  and  we 
looked  over  it — in  vain  so  far  as  the  enquiry  went — but  it  is  a 
very  curious  and  beautiful  book.  Mr.  H.  looked  on,  and  at 
last  indexes  guided  us  to  a  little  18mo  book,  some  eighth  of 
a  mile  fartlier  off,  which  satisfied  us. 

Mr.  H.  then  showed  me  very  curious  and  splendid  editions 
and  works  of  which  here  I  can  onlv  give  you  a  list :  Cardinal 
Ximenes's  Cnmplulensian  Polyglott.  printed  in  the  time  of 
Isabella  in  Spain  ;  the  Antwerp  Polyglott,  on  vellum,  1866  ; 
a  presentation  copy  lo  Henry  VIII  of  the  Biltle,  <m  vellum, 
1540 ;    preseutatiou  copy  of  Fieucli  Bible  to  Elizabeth,  by 


84  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.        [Chap.  IV. 

people  of  Lyons,  1566.  Mr.  Richards  then  took  hold  of  me 
again  and  showed  rae  in  his  department  (that  of  the  manu- 
scripts) an  Alexandrian  copy  of  Bible  of  fourth  century,  sent 
by  Cyril,  Patriarch  of  Constantinople,  with  a  note,  which  I 
read,  to  Charles  I.  The  "  Durham  Book,"  viz.  the  four 
gospels,  written  A.  D.  700.  Bloody  Queen  Mary's  Prayer- 
Book,  'beautifully  illuminated.  Hours  of  B.  Virgin,  belong- 
ing to  the  Croy  family,  with  the  finest  and  most  perfect 
illuminations,  representing  all  the  scenes  of  the  Passion. 
Two  Psalters,  one  of  Richard  II,  the  other  of  Henry  VIII, 
and,  among  others,  the  Prayer-Book  of  Lad}^  Jane  Grey,  used 
by  her  at  her  death,  on  the  margin  of  which  I  read  her  own 
last  note,  written  the  night  before  her  execution,  to  comfort 
her  father  ;  also  a  blank  sheet  signed  by  Charles  II  when 
Prince  of  Wales,  and  sent  to  the  Parliament  for  them  to  fill 
up  as  they  would,  if  only  they  would  spare  his  father, 
etc.,  etc.,  etc.  I  then  had  time  merely  to  walk  through  the 
vast  rooms  of  ancient  things  gathered  from  every  part  of  the 
world,  and  specimens  of  natural  history,  etc.  Weeks  might 
be  spent  very  profitably  in  the  Museum.  I  can  only  say  I 
have  seen  and  been  confounded  by  its  innumerable  and 
invaluable  deposits. 

From  the  Museum  I  rode  to  Barings,  etc.,  and  then  to  my 
hotel,  where  I  found  Dr.  Muhlenberg's  note  and  residence. 
How  gladly  we  met  I  have  said.  To-day  we  two  spent  tlius  : 
This  morning  we  gave  to  schools,  Christ  Church  Hospital, 
known  as  the  Blue-Coat  School,  and  St.  Paul's  School,  close 
by  St.  Paul's  Church,  founded  by  Dean  Colet.  The  former 
Bim-Coa  was  founded  by  Edward  VI,  whose  good  deeds  in  this  way 
meet  one  everywhere  in  England.  The  boys  still  wear  their 
old  statute  dress — a  long  blue  frockcoat  reaching  the  feet ; 
bands  like  ours  on  their  necks,  yellow  stockings  and  low 
shoes,  and  their  only  cap  is  a  little  one  covering  not  half  the 
crown  of  the  head,  and  which,  therefore,  they  always  keep  in 
their  pockets.  They  meet  one  everywhere  through  London, 
always,  in  all  weather  uncovered.  We  were  shown  politely 
through  the  "wards,"  or  dormitories,  each  for  50  boys, 
with  the  matron's  (called  "  nurse  ")  apartments  at  the  end, 


School. 


1843.]  VISIT  TO  EN&LAND.  S5 

very  comfortable,  but  not  too  cleanly.  They  change  bed- 
linen  once  in  three  weeks,  shirts  twice  a  week ;  but  as  all  the 
clothing,  as  well  as  board  and  education,  is  given  by  the 
Hospital,  boys  use  a  common  wardrobe.  They  take  all 
meals  in  a  noble,  large  hall,  where  the  850  sit  down  together. 
Wooden-wai"e  is  used  exclusively,  even  wooden  spoons  (a 
very  recent  luxury)  ;  only  metal  knives  and  forks.  We  passed 
through  all  their  studies,  and  conversed  with  the  masters 
freely.  The  five  classical  teachers  are  Church  of  England 
clergymen,  and  prepare  as  many  for  the  universities  as  are 
deserving,  from  their  success,  to  remain  beyond  15  years  of 
age,  the  limited  time  for  ordinary  scholars.  About  30  to  40 
of  the  850  are  considered  worthy  to  stay,  and  of  the  small 
number  who  finish  here  yearly,  four  are  rewarded  with  liberal 
scholarships  in  the  universities. 

We  got  some  good  hints  for  practice  at  home.  But  the 
sight  of  sights  was  the  dinner,  to  which  we  returned  at 
twenty  minutes  before  one  o'clock.  We  went  down  to  the 
kitchen  and  saw  how  things  went  on  there,  and  took  a  dish  of 
very  good  soup,  ready  for  the  boys'  dinner.  By  the  time  we 
were  done,  the  boys,  whose  month  of  waiting  this  is,  were 
marshalled  two  to  each  bucket  of  soup,  others  with  baskets  of 
bread,  others  plates  of  butter,  others  of  cheese,  others  again 
with  the  wooden  bowls,  spoons,  etc.  We  got  into  the  pro- 
cession, and  up  we  went  to  the  hall,  where  the  850  were  soon 
seated  very  orderly,  no  one  but  the  masters  and  the  stew- 
ards being  there  to  control  them.  Three  raps  of  a  mallet  on 
the  steward's  table  prepared  them  for  grace,  which  was  a 
short  lesson  and  prayer  by  one  of  the  eldest  boys — of  the 
Class  of  Grecians,  i.  e.  students  for  the  university — and  a 
short  hymn  sung  by  nearly  all  with  the  aid  of  a  fine  organ  in 
an  end  gallery.  The  whole  sight  and  sound  deeply  afi'ected  us 
both.  During  the  meal  we  walked  everywhere  up  and  down 
the  hall,  talking  to  the  boys  and  the  matrons,  struck  by  the 
cheerfulness,  yet  good  order  of  the  crowded  room.  There 
are  sonsof  clergymen,  naval  and  military  officers,  as  well  as 
of  poorer  persons,  and  everything  is  supplied  them  gratis, 
save  pocket  handkerchiefs  and  washing 


86  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  EERFOOT.       [Chap.  IV 

To  go  on  with  the  Blue-Coat  School.  There  are  no 
pamphlets  giving  its  history  and  regulations.  Evidently  it 
was  designed  for  poorer  youths  than  now  generally  till  its 
halls  and  wards.  Trustees  seem  too  much  to  put  in  boys  who, 
though  not  of  a  very  wealthy  class,  are  yet  of  a  rank  whose 
influence  secures  the  places  which  humbler  boys  should  oftener 
fill.  But  from  all  we  could  see  and  hear  every  care  and  kind- 
ness is  shown  the  boys.  They  are  instructed  in  religion,  and 
excellent  general  regulations  exist  —  such  as  full  and  beautiful 
prayers  and  graces  at  meals  and  in  the  "  wards  "  before  lying 
down  ;  regular  attendance  at  church  twice  on  Sunday  and  at 
a  lecture  on  Sunday  evening  in  their  dining  hall  by  the  head 
master,  and  constant  supervision  during  play  hours  ;  but  of 
the  pastoral  care  for  individuals  which  we  aim  at  at  home 
there  is  probably  little  or  none.  The  politeness  of  the  boys 
to  us  as  visitors,  and  to  one  another,  was  striking  to  us. 
And  we  both  saw  clearly  in  that  and  several  other  schools 
that  a  sense  of  order  was  tenfold  and  an  hundredfold  greater 
among  English  thau  American  boys. 
St.  Pavl's  St.  Paul's  School  was  founded  by  Dean  Colet,  of  St.  Paul's 
'^  "^ '  Cathedral,  who  limited  the  number  of  boys  to  153,  that  his 
net,  like  that  of  the  Scriptures,  might  have  its  special  draught. 
This  is  wholly  a  day-school,  and  the  head  master,  who  politely 
saw  us  in  school  hours,  gave  us  all  the  information  we  asked. 
Here,  however,  esi.ecially,  we  felt  it  strauge  that  gentlemen's 
sons  should  engross,  as  they  do,  the  gratuitous  pi'ovision  of 
the  pious  dead  for  the  poor.  The  head  master  assured  us 
that  they  did  not  violate  the  purpose  of  the  founder,  and,  of 
course,  we  were  too  polite  to  say  what  we  thought,  it  may 
be  erroneously,  to  the  contrary.  He  gave  us  some  pamphlets 
relating  to  the  school,  and  I  should  have  mentioned  that  I 
secured  a  copy  of  the  prayers  used  at  the  Blue-Coat  School 
on  condition  of  my  not  using  them  in  this  country,  composed 
by  a  Bishop  of  Loudon  150  years  ago,  and  kept  sacredly  for 
this  school.  The  rest  of  the  afternoon  we  spent  in  walking 
down  to  the  oflice  of  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the 
Gospel,  etc.,  to  the  secretary  of  which.  Rev.  Mr.  Hawkins, 
who  has  been  a  very  kind  friend  to  me,  I  introduced  Dr.  M. 


1843.]  VISIT  TO  ENGLAND.  87 

The  Doctor  was  very  much  pleased  with  Mr.  H.  The  truth 
is  these  English  clergy  are  very  kind,  warm-hearted  men. 
They  seem  to  live  comfortably,  as  everybody  in  England  does 
who  lives  at  all ;  but  they  are  right  fine  fellows,  and  generally 
strong-minded,  conservative  and  often  hard-working  men. 

Yesterday  (Sunday  morning)  Dr.  Muhlenberg  and  I  walked  st-  Marie's, 
(as  we  missed  finding  any  omnibus)  about  four  miles  to  ser-  Derwerit 
vice  at  Chelsea,  at  Rev.  Derwent  Coleridge's  training  school.  ^°^*^^5'«. 
His  chapel  is  in  Norman  style ;  on  the  whole,  the  most 
pleasing  edifice  as  a  place  of  modern  worship  which  I  have 
seen.  The  chapel  was  open  to  and  was  filled  by  the  neigh- 
bors, but  the  various  offices  were  discharged  by  the  boys  who 
are  training  simply  to  be  teachers  of  common  schools.  Thej' 
have  no  organ,  but  the  full  Cathedral  service  is  sung  by  Mr. 
Coleridge,  and  chiefly  by  his  vice-principal,  Mr.  Helmore,  and 
the  choir  of  youths.  Altogether,  the  excellent  taste,  order, 
skill  and  reverence  of  the  service,  and  every  engagement  of 
the  morning,  especially  the  devout  and  becoming  beauty  of 
the  Communion  Service,  made  it  an  occasion  wiiich  I  shall 
long  remember.  We  walked  through  a  small  part  of  the 
grounds,  tasteful,  and  green,  of  course,  this  is  always  and 
everywhere  the  case  in  Eniiland,  conversed  awhile  with 
Messrs.  Coleridge  and  Helmore,  and  reached  our  hotel  tired 
and  hungry.  In  the  evening  we  went  to  Margaret  Chap*  1, 
where  Mr.  Oakley,  the  rector,  officiated.  He  wrote  the  strong 
article  in  tlie  Critic  on  Sacranienial  Confession.  His  powers 
of  mind  are  great ;  his  sermon  would  have  shown  this ;  but 
though  there  was  much  attempt  in  the  service  (combined  with 
great  reverence  too)  we  felt  that  real  taste  was  lacking.  .  .  . 

We  visited  the  house,  church  and  schools  of  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Jackson,'  one  of  the  most  stirring  of  the  London  clergy. 
He  was  not  at  home,  but  we  are  to  dine  at  his  house  on 
Thursday,  should  he  be  back  by  that  time. 

London,  Wednesday  Evening,  Sept.  13,  1843. 
....     With  Canterbm-y  Cathedral  itself  I  could  not  but  Canterbury. 
be  delighted,  and  will  only  say  that  I  felt  that  it  is  a  worthy 

*  [The  late  Bishop  of  London.] 


88  LIFE  OF  BISBOP  KERFOOT.        [Chap.  IV. 

home  for  all  the  holy  associations  of  the  first  existence  of 
our  religion  here,  which  the  Anglican  churchman  would 
cherish.  The  whole  Cathedral  had  just  been  repaired  and 
cleaned ;  and  this,  though  certainly  only  a  duty,  somewhat 
impairs  one's  sense  of  its  antiquity.  My  next  chief  visit 
was  to  the  holiest  spot  my  feet  have  touched,  even  in 
St.  Marfm\y,  England,  the  old,  old  church  of  St.  Martin's,  the  chancel  of 
which,  having  been  the  whole  of  the  original  church,  was 
built  A.  D.  200.  There  is  but  one  other  church  as  old  in  Eng- 
land. I  hunted  up  the  old  sexton,  now  nearly  70  (none  but  the 
grey-haired  and  tottering  should  ever  have  charge  of  this  aged 
house  of  God).  I  felt  it  a  privilege  to  gaze  on  the  exterior 
of  the  church,  and  much  more  to  go  within  it.  The  interior 
is  fully  as  plain  as  you  would  expect  in  one  of  the  very 
earliest  of  the  Christian  houses  of  prayer  in  Britain.  All  is 
wliite  and  clean,  but  saving  the  pure  color,  your  eye  meets 
nothing  above  but  the  rude  ceiling  and  the  rough-hewn  cross- 
beams which  some  old  log  huts  may  exhibit  at  home.  The 
pews  are,  though  quite  recent,  or  rather  not  very  old,  in 
keeping  with  the  rest.  The  altar  and  its  proper  chancel 
rails  embrace,  according  to  my  stepping,  15  feet  (the  whole 
width  of  that,  the  oldest,  end  of  the  church)  by  8  feet.  The 
present  altar  is  covered  with  a  bright  crimson  cloth,  not  in 
keeping  with  the  rest.  On  the  north  side  of  this  oldest  part 
of  the  church  is  a  tomb,  like  an  old  sarcophagus,  partially 
built  into  the  wall.  It  is  supposed  to  be  good  Queen  Bertha's, 
at  whose  request  this  church  is  said  to  have  been  allowed  to 
St.  Augustine.  The  sexton  told  me  that  the  rector  of  the 
church  had  it  opened  seven  years  since,  but  nothing  but  dust 
was  found  within.  I  felt  no  wish  to  doubt  that  the  Christian 
Queen  indeed  had  lain  there  ;  the  tomb  seems  indeed  ancient 
enough.  I  sat  long,  and  let  my  eyes  take  their  fill.  In  the 
aisle  of  the  newer,  though  yet  very  old,  part  of  St.  Martin's 
stands  the  font,  just  what  one  would  ask  to  see  in  size  and 
rude  sculpture.  Of  this  I  have  a  plate,  which,  as  usual, 
spoils  the  font  by  giving  it  elegance  instead  of  age.  On  the 
floor  by  the  font  is  a  slab  of  stone  on  a  grave.  From  a  brass 
plate  on  the  stone  I  copied  this  :  "Pray  for  the  soulis  of  Hebyn 


1843.]  VISIT  TO  ENGLAND.  89 

Falkxs  and  Alys  his  wife  the  which  decessid  the  X  day  of  May 
the  Year  of  oure  Lord  MCCCCC,  and  sex  on  whos  soulis  Jesu 
have  mercy.  Amen."  There  is  morning  service  and  a  good 
congregation  every  Sunday  at  the  church.  I  put  a  pebble  from 
the  plastering  on  tlie  outside  of  the  old  place  in  my  pocket  as 
a  relic,  and  will  end  by  saying  that  the  sight  of  the  noblest 
English  cathedrals  would  not  have  made  up  to  one  the  loss  of 
seeing  St.  Martin's. 

I  retraced  my  steps  to  the  Cathedral  to  walk  and  gaze  on 
the  noble  pile,  and  then  hunted  up  the  former  palace  of  the 
Archbishops.  It  stands  back  in  a  court-yard,  and  though 
for  centuries  past  it  has  not  been  a  palace.,  its  exterior  would 
even  now  attract  any  one  who  might  chance  to  wander  into 
so  unpromising  a  yard  as  that  where  it  stands.  Determined 
to  get  in  if  possible,  I  knocked,  and  the  wife  of  its  present 
occupant,  a  carpenter,  sent  her  little  daughter  at  my  request 
through  the  house.  The  cliief  rooms  are  now  the  carpenter's 
workshops,  and  the  one  called  Thomas  a  Becket's  study, 
being  on  the  first  floor,  holds  his  lumber.  The  only  or  chief 
thing  betokening  great  antiquity  now  remaining  is  a  massive 
oak  stairway  and  railing,  which  may  well  have  guided  the 
steps  of  the  haughty  saint,  and  many  of  his  predecessors. 
My  next  point  of  observation  was  the  western  gateway,  the 
only  one  left  of  the  once  strong  and  complete  fortifications  of 
the  city;  then  to  St.  Dunstan's  Church,  old  like  every  oi\\QX  st.  Dimstan'. 
church  in  Canterbury  which  I  saw,  save  one.  I  never  tire  of 
roaming  through  old  churches,  so  as  the  sexton  was  out  of  reach 
I  got  his  son  to  unlock  the  door,  and  the  boy  sadly  puzzled 
me  by  his  version  of  an  old  legend.  I  asked  him  about  a  cast 
of  a  man's  head  affixed  to  the  wall  just  above  the  pews. 
The  boy  told  me  it  represented  the  head  of  a  brother  to 
the  wife  of  the  present  rector  of  the  church ;  it  was  cut  ofl' 
in  London,  and  the  sister  gave  de200  for  it,  etc.  I  afterwards 
learned  from  my  book  that  it  memorialized  the  head  of  Sir 
Thomas  More,  Lord  Chancellor,  which  Henry  VIII  took  oil" ; 
after  that  it  was  brought  here  to  his  family  vault 


90  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.  [Cuap.  IV. 

Mr.  Kerfoot  made  a  brief  visit  to  his  old  home  and 
to  liis  relations  in  Dublin,  which  he  describes  in  the 
following  letter  to  his  mother : 

39  Westmoreland  St.,  Dublin,  Sept.  22,  1843. 

I  well  know,  my  veiy  dear  mother,  how  glad  the  date  of 
this  letter  will  make  you.  Yes,  it  is  quite  true  I  write  from 
Uncle  John's  house,  where  I  have  now  been  since  yesterday 
morning,  and,  I  need  not  tell  you,  most  warmly  received.  .  .  . 
I  cannot  describe  my  poor  uncle's  feelings  when  he  met  me. 
He  hugged  me  and  kissed  me,  and  even  wept  at  seeing,  as  he 
said,  a  child  of  his  dear  sister's.  Aunt  M.,  who  lives  some 
distance  oft",  and  had  been  here  twice  yesterday  inquiring  for 
me,  was  at  once  sent  for  and  soon  came  ;  and  her  kisses,  at  a 
small  calculation,  must  have  been  twenty.  She  called  me  all 
sorts  of  familiar  names,  "her  dear  boy,"  and  so  on.    So  that 

I  was  quite  at  home  at  once Mr.  Muhlenberg  came 

over  from  France  to  meet  me  in  England,  and  we  spent  eleven 

days  together You  know  how  delightful  it  was  to  me 

to  meet  so  dear  a  friend  away  from  home. 

And  now  you  will  wish  to  know  how  the  people  look  here. 
Uncle  J.  and  Aunt  M.  had  both  of  them  such  questions  about 
you.   They  both  are  very  much  like  yourself.  I  saw  your  face  at 

once  in  theirs,  in  Aunt  M.'s  especially Uncle  J. 's  wife 

is  a  stirring,  active  woman — has  everything  very  nicely  fixed 
around  her,  and  is  as  kind  to  me  as  though  she  were  your  own 

sister I  have  seen  the  house  where  I  was  born,  and 

where  father  made  enlargements  to  suit  his  business,  etc. 
Grandfather's  cane  I  have  handled,  and  his  desk  is  in  my 
room  here.  I  will  write  you  a  letter  from  it  before  I  leave. 
....  I  am  much  pressed  for  time  to  write :  this  and  a  letter 

to  my  wife  have  made  me  sit  up  late  and  rise  early 

My  throat  is  much  better ;  I  feel  great  hopes  of  full  relief. 
....  And  now  good-bye  for  a  while,  my  dearest  mother. 
Give  my  love  to  all,  and  believe  me  your  loving  son, 

John. 


1843.]  VISIT  TO  ENGLAND.  91 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Muhlenberg  to  the  Rev.  J.  B.  Kerfoot. 

Edinburgh,  July  15,  1843. 

My  Dear  John, — As  I  have  iust  been  in  the  land  of  your  Dr.  Muhlen- 
•^  '  ''  .  berg  s  Imjrres- 

fathers  I  naturally   think  of  my  promise  to  write  to  you,  mons of  Ireland. 

though  I  saw  too  little  of  Ireland  to  make  my  letter  in  regard 
to  it  very  interesting.  We  spent  about  three  days  in  Dublin, 
which  is  really  a  splendid  city,  but  presenting,  as  you  know, 
a  wretched  sight  to  the  traveller,  in  the  poverty  and  squalid 
misery,  I  was  going  to  say,  of  a  large  portion  of  its  inhabi- 
tants. But  miserable  they  do  not  seem  to  be,  for  their 
cheerfulness  and  healthy  looks,  especially  the  rosy  cheeks  of 
the  boys  and  girls,  forbid  tlie  deduction  you  would  draw  from 
their  filthy  condition.  We  were  beset  with  beggars  from  the 
moment  we  set  foot  on  land,  and  though  begging  was  evi- 
dently the  trade  of  most  of  them,  I  could  not  help  giving 
coppers,  of  which  I  kept  a  supply  for  the  purpose. 

We  saw  little  more  than  the  outside  of  things,  for  the  Arch- 
bishop, to  whom  I  had  a  letter,  was  in  London,  and  I  missed 
seeing  Dr.  W.  We  rode  a  great  deal  about  the  city  in  the 
open,  jaunting  cars,  which  with  their  paddy  drivers  aftbrded 
us  not  a  little  amusement.  There  had  just  been  a  grand 
demonstration  of  the  Repealers,  and  as  they  had  heard  of  the 
Repeal  meetings  in  New  York  and  that  $5000  had  been  sent 
over  to  help  the  glorious  cause,  they  took  for  granted  that 
every  American  was  in  favor  of  the  "  Repale."  None  of  the 
respectable  classes,  however,  that  I  happened  to  fall  in  with 
are  in  favor  of  the  movement,  which  they  regard  very  justly 
as  aiming  at  an  entire  separation  from  England.  An  Irish 
Parliament  is  the  avowed  object,  but  the  independence  of 
Ireland,  notwithstanding  all  the  professions  of  loyalty  of 
O'Connell  and  his  followers,  is  the  thing  really  in  view. 

From  Dublin  we  went  to  Armagh,  where  we  spent  the 
Sunday.  The  primate,  who  was  in  London,  has  restored  the 
Cathedral  in  a  very  elegant  style  at  his  own  expense,  and  also 
supports  the  choir  who  perform  the  choral  service  more  per- 
fectly than  I  have  heard  it  anywhere  else.  It  was,  however, 
more  of  an  exliibition  than  I  like  to  see,  and  appeared  to  me 


92  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.       [Chap.  IV. 

something  of  a  Sunday  opera  for  the  fashionables  of  Armagh. 
Of  the  choir  of  boys  of  the  cathedrals  you  may  be  sure  I  have 
taken  particular  notice.  They  are  generally  well  behaved, 
sing  beautifully,  but  for  the  most  part  there  is  a  want  of 
reverence  in  their  manner  which  detracts  from  the  solemnity 
of  the  service.  We  heard  an  earnest  Evangelical  in  the 
evening;  indeed  most  of  the  Irish  Church  clergy  are  of  that 
school.  One  of  them  —  the  secretary  of  the  Church  Mission- 
ary Society  for  Ireland  —  gave  me  to  understand  in  what 
repute  Puseyism  is  held,  by  assuring  me  that  the  projected 
College  at  St.  Columba'  would  not  be  supported  from  its 
being  under  Oxford  influence.  A  boy  in  a  bookstore  in 
Dublin  informed  me  that  "  both  Socialism  and  Puseyism  were 
going  down  in  England,"  and  that  "  if  they  could  only  be  rid 
of  the  Repeal  agitation  in  Ireland  everything  would  be  right." 

We  spent  a  day  in  Belfast,  and  from  a  stranger,  with  whom 
we  got  acquainted  in  the  coach  from  Dublin,  we  experienced 
as  much  hospitality  as  could  possibly  be  shown  in  a  single 
day.  We  saw  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  Ireland  —  or  the  Synod  of  Ulster,  as  it  is  mostly 
called  —  in  session.  Thej-^  were  in  great  ferment  on  having 
just  heard  the  decision  of  the  English  judges  that  marriages 
celebrated  by  Presbyterian  ministers  in  Ireland  are  invalid. 
They  wished  an  immediate  act  of  Parliament  on  the  subject, 
which  probably  they  will  get  so  far  as  to  remedy  any  evils  of 
the  past  resulting  from  such  a  decision.  We  saw  the  immense 
linen  warehouses  and  factories  in  this  place.  I  should  like  to 
have  staid  longer  in  Ireland,  for  although  I  had  few  oppor- 
tunities of  making  acquaintances,  yet  I  saw  enough  of  the 
people  to  make  me  wish  to  know  more  of  them.  To  see 
genuine  Irish  character,  however,  we  should  have  gone  down 
to  Cork  and  had  tlie  southern  aspect  of  the  Emerald  Isle. 

This  is  a  stupid  letter,  at  which  I  feel  the  more  vexed, 
because  if  I  had  begun  where  I  am,  in  Edinburgh,  and  not 
gone  back  to  Ireland,  I  might  have  told  you  of  the  state  of 
things  in  the   "Kirk"   here.    The   secession  of   the  Free 

"  [Founded  by  Rev.  W.  Sewell,  of  Exeter  College.] 


1843,]  VISIT  TO  ENGLAND.  93 

Church  people  has  been  a  wonderful  revolution  —  the  old 

Puritan  spirit  modified  by  circumstances 

Howland  desires  to  be  remembered  to  you  aftectionately. 
Yours  most  sincerely,  W.  A.  M. 

P.  S. — We  were  in  Oxford  a  week  and  saw  Newman,  Pusey 
and  others,  who  were  very  polite.  We  shall  go  hence  through 
England  again  and  cross  over  to  the  Continent. 

Make  my  best  respects  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Anderson,  and 
most  particularly  to  your  beloved  wife. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Muhlenberg  to  Rev.  J.  B.  Kerfoot. 

Liverpool,  Sept.  25,  1843. 


I  was  sure  you  would  be  pleased  with  Pusey.  I  found  him 
just  as  you  say,  an  open,  warm-hearted  man.  You  will  have 
the  honor  also,  no  doubt,  of  dining  with  his  Grace  of  Dublin.' 
I  see  he  was  to  hold  an  ordination  yesterday 

So  reluctantly  do  I  forego  the  pleasure  of  our  sailing 
together,  that  in  the  course  of  writing  this  note,  I  have  been 
tempted  to  change  my  mind.  I  assure  you  I  consider  it  a 
sacrifice  to  a  sense  of  duty,  making  some  allowance  for 
longings  to  be  at  home.  We  shall  be  at  the  same  time  on  the 
ocean.  No  doubt  we  shall  often  think,  and  perhaps  as  often 
pray,  for  one  another.  If  I  am  at  home  first,  I  shall  lose  no 
time  in  telling  your  dear  ones  when  I  saw  you  last.  God 
bless  you.  As  ever  yours, 

W.  A.  M. 

P.  S. — I  have  a  book  on  Architecture  for  you.  At  Smith's 
music  store  on  Bold  street  I  have  laid  aside  a  book  that  will 
perhaps  suit  you  as  a  present  for  Mrs.  K. 

The  following  letter  to  his  mother,  written  after  his 
return  to  St.  James's,  sj)eaks  of  the  shipwreck,  and 
also  refers  to  the  condition  of  affairs  at  the  Hall 
during  his  absence. 

'  [Archbishop  Whately.] 


94  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.        [Chap.  IV. 

St.  James's  Hall,  Dec.  14,  1843. 
My  very  Dear  Mother^ — I  have  not  written  in  reply  to  yours 
and  Richard's  kind  letters  since  my  return  here,  for  I  found 
so  much  to  do,  which  had  accumulated  during  my  absence, 
and  which  no  one  could  do  but  myself,  that  all  my  time  and 
strength  were  taken  up  in  pressing  duties  here.  There  had 
been  disorder  during  my  absence,  and  this  called  for  discip- 
line here,  and  letters  to  parents,  etc.,  etc.  All  this  fell  to 
my  lot.  Perfect  order,  and  quiet,  and  good  humor  have 
reigned  since  my  return.  But  I  have  been  very  busy  these 
three  weeks — scarcely  ever  had  so  much  anxiety  and  work 
in  as  much  time  before.  All  is  pretty  well  finished.  You 
will  be  glad  to  know  that  Sam'  was  the  most  efficient  and 
useful  man  in  the  house  in  my  absence.  Had  he  been  the 
oldest  instead  of  being  the  youngest  instructor  here,  no  dis- 
order would  have  occurred.  After  all  it  was  not  very  bad, 
and  boys  as  well  as  instructors  rejoiced  to  see  me  back  to 
take  the  reins.  Richard's  letter  was  a  very  nice  one.  I  will 
answer  it  to  himself  as  soon  as  I  can.  He  asks  me  to  tell 
Shipwreck,  you  more  of  the  wreck,  from  which  God's  mercy  saved  us. 
The  paper  I  sent  told  you  everything,  save  only  that  our 
escape  was  just  in  time.  A  few  hours  after  we  left,  the  ship 
working  herself  deeper  into  the  sand-bank,  and  the  tide  and 
wind  arising,  she  was  covered  a  foot  deep  all  over  in  water, 
and  the  waves  broke  over  her.  Had  we  not  been  taken  oil', 
we  should  thus  not  have  had  a  safe  place  for  more  than  30 
out  of  130  on  board.  Many  of  the  women  and  children 
would  have  perished  with  cold  and  wet  (for  it  was  bitterly 
cold)  before  midday  on  Sunday.  Our  longboat,  twelve  years 
old,  had  never  been  in  the  water,  and  so  was  not  water-tight ; 
it  would  have  sunk  at  once.  The  other  two  boats  would 
have  held  but  30,  and  the  rush  into  them  would  have 
sunk  them  at  once.  So,  had  not  God  sent  us  the  timely 
aid,  long  before  the  next  sunset  very  many  must  have 
perished.  I  never  can  do  enough  to  show  my  gratitude  for 
this  wonderful  display  of  His  goodness  towards  me  I     Give 

*  [His  brother,  S.  H.  Kerfoot,  Esq.,  of  Chicago.] 


1843.]  VISIT  TO  ENGLAND.  95 

me,  all  of  you,  your  prayers  that  His  grace  may  stir  me  up  to 
live  henceforth  a  more  holy  and  devoted  life.  Even  my 
books  were  saved.  My  box  was  the  only  package  which  the 
captain  was  able  to  get  out  the  day  we  left.  Everything  else 
was  in  the  water  a  whole  week,  and  mostly  destroyed.  My 
books,  though  wet,  were  so  slightly  injured  that  my  loss  at 
the  outside  is  not  more  than  ten  dollars.    Not  a  volume  was 

lost — a  few  I  had  rebound My  health  generally  is  much 

improved ;  my  throat  is  not  any  better.  I  am  forbidden 
preaching  or  teaching  for  nearly  a  year.  But  I  take  good 
care  of  myself,  and  hope  for  full  relief  in  God's  good  time. 
E.  is  quite  well,  and  my  sweet  little  boy  all  say  is  an 
unusually  fine  child,  and  full  of  health  and  spirits.  He  loves 
to  romp  and  pla}^  and  seldom  lets  me  come  in  his  way  with- 
out jumping  to  come  to  me  to  be  tossed  up.  God  make  him 
a  good  man.  Mr.  Van  Bokkelen  has  just  paid  me  a  visit  of 
five  days,  very  delightful  to  us  all.  Can  you  send  me  word 
how  a  package  will  reach  you?  ....  The  Testament  I  send 
is  somewhat  injured  by  the  wreck,  but  that  will  only  make 
you  value  it  the  more  as  a  memento  of  my  deliverance. 
Samuel  is  well.  He,  E.,  and  Ahel  all  send  love,  and  so  does 
Your  loving  son,  J.  B.  K. 


CHAPTER  Y. 


KETUKN  HOME.      LIFE  AT  ST.  JAMES  8. 
1843-1850.     Aetat.  27-34. 

As  has  already  been  said  at  the  close  of  the  last 
chapter,  the  new  school  suffered  seriously  from  the 
want  of  its  rector's  guiding  hand.  Those  whom  he 
left  in  charge  proved  quite  incompetent  to  control  the 
students,  and  very  amusing  as  well  as  exceedingly  pro- 
voking were  the  pranks  and  merry  tricks  played  by  the 
boys  during  the  interregnum.'    The  return  of  the  rector 


'  The  followiug  is  one  speci- 
men of  many  like  performances. 
The  school  at  that  time  had  no 
hell ;  signals  were  given  by  strik- 
ing a  large  metallic  "triangle" 
with  an  iron  rod.  The  boys  carried 
off  the  triangle  and  hid  it,and  then 
stayed  out  of  school  playing  games 
or  taking  walks,  "waiting  for  the 
triangle  to  sound."  At  recitation 
hour  only  one  or  two  specially 
"good"  boys  (who  no  doubt 
paid  for  their  good  conduct  in 
plentiful  teasing  from  the  others) 
were  in  attendance.  When  the 
supposed  ringleaders  were  called 
to  account  for  not  coming  into 
school,  their  reply  was,  "  We  did 
not  hear  the  triangle  sound." 
"But  did  you  not  know  that  it 
was  long  past  the  hour  ?"  "  Well 
yes,  sir,  we  did  think  the  play 
hour  seemed  rather  long,  but, 
then,  we  didn't  know  but  what 


you  had  given  us  a  half-holiday 
this  afternoon  for  our  good  beha- 
vior while  Mr.  Kerfoot  is  away !  " 
This  thing  occurring  again  and 
again,  the  only  remedy  that 
could  be  devised  was  to  fasten  the 
triangle  with  an  iron  chain  (for  a 
rope  could  be  cut),  padlock  and 
key  to  one  of  the  massive  pillars 
of  the  large  hall  of  the  Ringgold 
residence,  now  converted  into 
the  school  building.  A  day  or 
two  after  Mr.  Kerfoot' s  return  he 
said  in  a  sort  of  careless,  humor- 
ous manner  to  the  assembled 
school,  "I  noticed,  boys,  that 
the  triangle  was  chained  and 
locked  to  one  of  the  pillars,  as  if 
we  were  afraid  some  one  would 
run  off  with  it.  That  does  not 
seem  very  likely ;  I  am  sure  no 
one  will  want  it ;  and  it  certainly 
doesn't  look  well.  I  shall  there- 
fore order  it  to  be  put  in  its  old 


1843.]  RETURN  HOME.  97 

soon  set  everything  right,  and  from  the  moment  of  his 
arrival  perfect  order  and  good  humor  prevailed. 
Laughable  as  the  whole  affair  became  in  the  retro- 
spect to  all  parties,  it  was  near  inflicting  a  grievous 
injury  on  the  school,  and  the  following  letter  shows 
how  great  was  the  annoyance  to  Bishop  Whittingham  : 

The  Bishop  of  Maryland  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Muhlenberg. 

Sunday,  Nov.  5,  1843. 
My  Dear  Doctor., — It  is  with  very  great  reluctance  but  still 
greater  earnestness  that  I  beg  you  to  save  St.  James's,  just  on 
the  brink  of  success,  from  ruin,  by  an  immediate  visit.  I 
know  how  very  great  the  demand  is  just  at  this  time,  but  I 
kuow  no  other  hope  for  the  school,  and  your  love  for  Kerfoot. 
your  pledge  to  the  institution,  your  devotion  to  the  church,  will, 
I  think,  tear  you  even  now^  from  your  own  aflairs  for  a  few 
days.  The  Hall  opens  this  term  with  upwards  of  30  scholars, 
but  one  bad  speck  has  leavened  them.  Almost  all  would  be 
very  docile  boys  in  the  hands  of  a  disciplinarian,  but  I  am 
not  such,  and  it  is  too  plain  that  the  corps  of  instructors  now 
at  the  Hall  have  not  the  reins  in  their  hands.  I  enclose  you 
Trevett's  letter  received  yesterday.  I  could  not  go  at  once, 
for  duties  of  this  day.  This  afternoon  there  is  a  report  in 
town  of  an  open  rebellion,  broken  windows,  boys  sent  away, 
etc.  It  may  be  all  exaggeration,  but  Trevett's  letter  aflbrds 
too  much  reason  to  fear  it  is  not.  I  go  to-morrow  morning, 
and  (D.  V.)  reach  the  school  at  night,  but  I  have  no  confidence 


place,  and  I  feel  confident  that 
no  one  of  you  will  disturb  it." 
The  triangle  was  never  again 
interfered  with.  The  rector,  in 
his  letters  to  Bishop  Whitting- 
ham, mentions  the  extreme  diffi- 
culty he  found  in  maintaining  i  kind-hearted  Mr.  Trevett. 
due  gravity  of  countenance  as  he 

enquired  into  some  of  these  pranks  '[Dr.  Muhlenberg  himself  had 

and  i-equired  apologies  and  prom-    I    only  just  returned  from  Europe.] 


ises  of  future  good  behavior, 
etc.  Imagination  refuses  to  pic- 
ture what  would  have  happened 
had  the  celebrated  Dr.  Keate,  of 
Eton,  had  to  deal  with  these  mis- 
chievous boys  instead  of  the  too 


98  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERF 00 T.         [Chap.  V. 

in  myself^  having  no  experience  and  little  tact,  and  of  course 
can  expect  no  success.  It  cannot  be  many  days  now  before  Ker- 
foot  arrives,  but  even  that  time  I  cannot  stay,  as  my  visita- 
tion appointments  are  out,  and  I  have  already  neglected  them 
for  the  school.  At  latest  I  must  leave  St.  James's  on  Friday 
morning.  Pray  be  with  us  by  that  time,  and  restore,  as  I 
know  you  could,  with  the  material  there,  in  two  or  three  days' 
order,  peace  and  quiet  to  the  school.  All,  I  fear,  is  lost  if 
you  do  not.  Your  already  deeply  obliged,  but  now  imploring 
suitor, 

W.  R.  Whittingham. 

Dr.  Muhlenberg,  vrho  had  never  had  the  least  diffi- 
culty in  influencing  and  controlling  the  students  of  all 
ages  under  his  charge,  was  highly  amused  with  Bishop 
Whittingham's  letter.  He  was  unable,  however,  to 
comply  with  the  Bishop's  request.  Moreover,  he 
knew  that  the  arrival  of  the  rector,  who  was 
daily  expected,  would  set  matters  straight.  The 
Bishop  repaired  in  person  to  St.  James's,  but  he  could 
remain  only  a  few  days,  and  order  was  not  really 
restored  until  the  actual  arrival  of  Mr.  Kerfoot  upon 
the  scene. 

After  reaching  the  school  Bishop  Whittingham 
addressed  the  following  letter  to  Dr.  Muhlenberg : 

The  Bishop  of  Maryland  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Muhlenberg. 

St.  James's  Hall,  Tuesday,  Nov.  7,  1843. 
My  Dear  Doctor, — On  arrival  here  I  find  that,  as  I  supposed 
when  I  last  wrote,  the  state  of  things  has  been  greatly  exag- 
gerated in  report.  There  has  been  no  rebellion.  The  duties 
of  the  school  go  forward.  The  boys  obey.  But  all  is  in  a 
state  of  extreme  and  growing  discomfort.  A  constant  recur- 
rence of  petty  infractions  of  rule  and  decorum,  done  appa- 
rently with  the  intention  o^  shotoing  disrespect  and  dissatisfac- 


1843.]  RETURN  HOME.  99 


tion,  keeps  the  teachers  in  continual  uneasiness.  Unhappily, 
neither  the}'  nor  I  have  the  tact  needful  for  the  remedy  of 
these  disorders.  Either  yo\x  or  Kerfoot,  I  am  persuaded,  in 
a  week  could  set  all  right.  But  I  have  no  hope  of  much 
improvement,  and  great  fear  of  rapid  deterioration,  unless  one 
of  you  take  the  helm.  It  is  thought  here  that  Kerfoot  must 
by  this  time  have  an-ived  at  New  York.  If  so,  he  ought  not 
to  lose  a  single  day  before  coming  on.  The  school  is  full  — 
32,  and  more  expected  —  and  if  reduced  to  order,  has  in  it  the 
material  of  success,  but  if  sufiered  to  go  on  in  its  present 
course  even  many  days,  must  fall  to  pieces.  I  could,  perhaps, 
with  diflSculty,  keep  it  quiet ;  but  it  is  impossible  for  me  to 
stay  beyond  Thursdaj'  of  this  week,  and  I  dread  to  leave  it. 

Since  writing  to  you  on  Sunday  I  have  heard  that  there  has 
been  trouble  at  St.  Paul's  also,  and  from  the  same  causes. 
[Alluding  to  Dr.  M.'s  recent  absence  in  Europe,]  This  adds, 
of  course,  to  the  improbability  of  your  acceding  to  my  request. 
Neither  should  I  have  made  that  request  merely  on  the  ground 
that  I  now  find  in  fact.  Yet,  if  you  should  have  thought  of 
coming  before  this  reaches  you,  and  can  spend  a  single  week 
here  in  counselling  and  drilling  the  faculty  and  household, 
and  subordinating  the  boys,  it  will  be  an  exceeding  favor  to 
the  institution,  to  its  absent  rector,  and  above  all,  to  your 
faithful  (though  perhaps  presuming  and  importunate)  friend, 

W.  R.  Whittingham. 

The  following  letters  from  Mr.  Trevett  will  give 
all  that  need  be  further  recorded  of  a  time  which 
never  ceased  in  after-days  to  afford  great  amusement 
to  all  concerned.  The  ridiculous  and  daring  nature 
of  the  pranks  played  by  the  boys,  the  utter  helpless- 
ness of  the  authorities,  and  the  perfect  order  which 
immediately  ensued  upon  the  return  of  the  head  of 
the  school,  all  this  formed  the  subject  of  numerous 
entertaining  anecdotes  for  many  years  after. 


100  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.         [Chap.  V. 

The  Bev.  Russell  Trevett  to  the  Bishop  of  Maryland. 

St.  James's  Hall,  Nov.  1,  1843. 

My  Dear  Bishop^ — I  am  sorry  to  be  obliged  to  write  to  you 
as  circumstances  compel  me.  But  my  duty  to  you  and  to  the 
school  forces  me  to  say  that  your  presence  is  indispensably 
necessary  at  the  Hall  the  very  first  moment  you  can  possibly 

come.     The  mutinous  spirit  which  X implanted  burst  out 

immediately  after  you  left.  No  measures  which  either  the 
instructors  or  myself  have  been  able  to  take  have  in  the  least 
quelled  it.  On  the  contrary,  it  has  increased  from  day  to  day 
until  the  expression  open  rebellion  is  not  too  strong.  This 
is  general  even  among  those  upon  whom  we  thought  we  could 
place  most  dependence.  I  know  that  a  solemn  league  has 
been  privately  made  that  they  will  not  submit  to  any  of  the 
present  instructors  or  yield  obedience  to  the  rules  of  the 
school  till  Mr.  Kerfoot  arrives,  and  this  is  carried  out  so 
generally  that  I  can  make  no  example,  which  ought  not  like- 
wise to  be  made  on  a  dozen  others I  beg  you  will 

allow  nothing  to  detain  you,  as  in  the  opinion  of  us  all  it  will 
be  impossible  to  get  along  without  you  and  almost  impossible 

to  get  along  till  you  come Yours  affectionately, 

KussELL  Trevett. 

P.  S.— Thursday  morning.  If  matters  had  continued  as 
they  were  yesterday  you  could  not  have  come  too  soon.  But 
as  they  have  now  taken  a  more  favorable  turn,  it  would,  I 
submit,  be  better  for  the  reputation  of  the  government  here 
that  you  should  not  come  before  Monday.  The  abominable 
conduct  has  ceased,  but  there  is  enough  to  show  that  it  may 

break  out  again  at  an}'  moment We  all  think  your 

presence  here  of  very  great  necessity  and  all  but  essential. 
You  may  judge  of  my  anxiety  and  distress  in  finding  my  admin- 
istration working  so  badly,  but  I  trust,  as  I  know,  you  will 
make  all  due  allowance  for  my  peculiarly  delicate  situation. 
The  boys  have  not  and  will  not  understand  that  I  am  rector 
pro  tern.,  and  every  attempt  to  exercise  needful  severity  is 
resented  as  an  attempt  at  usurpation,  and  this  has  been  their 


1843.]  RETURN  HOME.  101 

language.  I  went  unflinchingly  forward  till  it  came  to  the 
pass  that  I  must  send  away  or  send  for  you.  .  .  .  But  I  beg 
you  will  write  to  me  on  Saturday.  Even  a  letter  from  you 
will  keep  matters  quiet  till  you  are  here  in  person. 

The  Rev.  R.  Trevett  to  the  Rev.  J.  B.  Kerfoot. 

St.  James's  Hall,  Nov.  10,  1843. 
My  Dear  Kerfoot^ —  ....  I  am  sorry  that  I  must  give 
you  a  very  unfavorable  account  of  the  school.  You  have  no 
doubt  heard  that  the  Bishop  dismissed,  at  our  unanimous 
request,  decidedly  the  greatest  ruffian  of  his  age  I  have  ever 
known.  He  has  lingered  in  Hagerstown  till  very  near,  if  not 
quite  this  time,  and,  as  I  have  every  reason  to  believe,  letters 
were  sent  to  him  addressed  to  persons  Avith  whom  corres- 
pondence was  allowed.  This  was  not  even  suspected  till  the 
damage  was  done.  The  leaders  in  insubordination,  I  am  sorry 
to  say,  may  be  found  among  some  of  your  old  scholars,  upon 
whom  we  have  been  in  the  habit,  both  when  you  were  with 
us  and  since,  of  placing  the  most  implicit  reliance.  I  have 
sent  for  the  Bishop,  who  will  be  here  and  take  measures  as 
he  sees  fit  till  you  arrive.  In  our  new  boys  we  have  certainly 
some  of  the  most  disorderly  I  have  ever  seen.     They  were 

furious  when  X was  sent  ofl",  and  though  the  Bishop  did 

everything,  both  by  kindness  and  severity,  to  subdue,  his 
presence  proved  a  very  little  check,  and  when  that  was 
removed  everything  seemed  to  be  taken  away.  The  most 
dogged  determination  to  worry  us  all  appeared  to  have  taken 
possession  of  old  and  new.  But  enough  of  this ;  I  beg  that 
you  will  be  with  us  as  early  as  possible 

The  Rev.  Russell  Trevett  to  the  Rev.  J.  B.  Kerfoot. 

St.  James's  Hall,  Nov.  17,  1843. 
My  Dear  Kerfoot., — I  cannot  refrain  from  offering  you  my 
sincerest  and  most  heartfelt  congratulations  on  your  late 
miraculous  preservation.  We  thought  of  you  much  in  that 
severe  storm,  but  supposed  you  were  not  so  near  coast  as  to 
be  in  danger,  thinking  you  had  put  out  to  sea  to  weather  the 


102 


LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.  [Chap.  V. 


gale.  You  were  remembered  at  noou3  in  chapel  the  day  we 
heard  of  your  escape,  and  most  fervent  thanks  were  returned 
by  the  Bishop  for  your  safety.  You  have  been  statedly 
remembered  since  the  5th  of  October,  whenever  the  church 
service  has  been  read. 

I  am  sorry  such  reports  awaited  you,  on  your  arrival,  from 
the  Hall.    Boys  could  scarcely  have  been  more  injured  by 

vacation  than  were   some  of  our  elder   ones The 

froth  and  whip-syllabub  of  Southern  character  has  shown 
itself  in  some  who,  w^e  thought,  were  of  better  stuff.     But 

you  need  be  under  no  immediate  anxiety In  our  new 

clerical  brother,  Mr.  Frost,  you  will  find  one  of  the  purest 
minded,  most  amiable,  and  cathoHc  of  men.     He  lives  more 
up  to  his  principles  in  details  than  any  one  I  have  known.  .  .  . 
Most  afl'ectionately  and  truly  your  brother, 

KUSSELL   TrEVETT.' 


1  A  word  of  affectionate  remem- 
brance and  appreciation  must  be 
added  about  this  most  excellent 
man  and  learned  scholar.  He 
was  as  innocent  and  guileless  as 
a  child.  Incapable  of  doing 
anything  really  wrong  himself, 
he  could  not  easily  suspect  any 
such  thing  in  others,  and  was 
wholly  unfit  to  cope  with  rough 
or  mischievous  boys  who  were 
capable  of  finding  delight  in 
worrying  him.  As  was  natural 
with  such  a  temperament,  he 
would  be,  for  the  moment,  quite 
vexed  and  even  indignant  at  an 
annoying  piece  of  mischief,  and 
would  incline  to  think  too 
seriously  of  what,  after  all,  was 
meant  as  mere  sport,  for  "  when 
the  cat's  away,  the  mice  will 
play."  The  next  hour  he  was 
ready  to  forget  and  forgive  evei^- 
thing  on  the  least  show  of  repen- 
tance or  submission. 


Bishop  Whittingham  had  a 
very  high  opinion  of  Dr.  Trevett's 
classical  and  theological  attain- 
ments. He  received  the  degree 
of  D.D.  from  Columbia  College, 
New  York,  honoris  ergo.  He  was 
an  omniverous  reader  in  all  de- 
partments of  literature ;  his  in- 
formation was  very  extensive, 
and,  for  so  discursive  a  mind,  ac- 
curate. It  was  difficult  to  start 
a  subject  on  which  he  had  not 
read  more  than  any  one  present 
(unless,  indeed,  Bishop  Whitting- 
ham himself  chanced  to  be  one  of 
the  company),  and  no  book  or 
curious  edition  of  a  classic  or  theo- 
logical writer  could  be  mentioned 
but  Dr.  Trevett  knew  the  book,  or, 
at  least,  had  seen  it,  and  very 
possibly  possessed  it  in  his  own 
valuable  library.  There  was  al- 
ways a  vein  of  good-humored 
eccentricity  about  him,  but  sar- 


1848.] 


REV.  RUSSELL  TREVETT. 


103 


Just  as  everything  was  fairly  started  anew  the 
health  of  the  rector  again  broke  down.  The  disease 
in  his  throat  proved  so  severe  as  to  render  teaching 


casm  and  irony  were  alien  to  his 
nature. 

He  was  a  very  rapid  reader  and 
had  read  all  the  new  books  and 
reviews  before  other  people  knew 
they  were  out,  and  he  prided 
himself  on  the  number  of  times 
he  had  read  his  Hebrew  Bible 
through  from  cover  to  cover. 
He  chanced  once  to  read  some- 
where that  the  great  scholar,  Jo- 
seph Scaliger,  had  gone  through 
the  whole  34  books  of  the  Iliad, 
in  the  original,  in  one  day, 
besides  attending  to  his  ordmary 
work.  Fired  with  ambition  to 
see  how  nearly  he  could  accom- 
plish this  feat.  Dr.  Trevett  rose 
early,  took  his  pocket  Homer, 
began  reading  as  he  dressed,  read 
at  breakfast,  dinner  and  supper, 
and  during  every  inter^  al  all  day 
long  between  his  various  duties 
till  bedtime  near  midnight.  He 
succeeded  in  getting  through  a 
very  large  number  of  books, 
nearly,  but  not  quite  completing 
the  poem. 

He  resigned  his  professorship 
of  "Greek,  Latin,  Hebrew  and 
History  "  in  St.  James's  College 
in  1854,  being  succeeded  by  the 
Rev.  Julius  M.  Dashiell  and  Dr. 
Alexander  Falk,  the  latter  now  of 
Racine  College.  He  then  became 
Professor  of  Ancient  Languages 
in  St.  John's  College,  Annapolis, 
where  he  had  a  very  serious  illness 
which  much  shattered  his  consti- 


tution. Subsequently  he  under- 
took parochial  work,  but  his  mind 
at  length  became  impaired  to 
such  a  degree  that  his  friends  were 
often  seriously  uneasy  about  him. 
One  Sunday  he  preached,  as 
usual,  an  earnest,  excellent  ser- 
mon, and  the  next  Wednesday 
(Mar.  8,  1865),  in  a  sad  moment  of 
mental  derangement,  this  inno- 
cent, pure,  humble-minded  man 
took  his  own  life.  Unfortunately, 
the  only  clergyman  that  could 
be  obtained  was  a  young  and  in- 
experienced man — "a  mere  boy" 
some  one  called  him;  he  refused 
(from  a  sense  of  duty,  of  course) 
to  officiate  or  even  to  read  any 
prayers  whatever  at  the  funeral 
of  his  deceased  brother,  strangely 
misinterpreting  the  harsh  rubric 
which  stands  at  the  head  of  our 
burial  service.  This  rubric,  it- 
self one  of  the  unfitting  survivals 
of  the  hard,  almost  cruel,  spirit 
of  a  former  age,  must  be  inter- 
preted with  charity  and  good 
sense,  and  was  never  meant  to 
apply  to  irresponsible  persons 
who  had  lost  their  reason.  Dr. 
Trevett's  old  friends.  Bishop 
Whittingham  and  Dr.  Kerfoot, 
were  greatly  shocked.  Dr.  Ker- 
foot (then  President  of  Trinity 
College)  repaired,  the  very  first 
moment  he  could  do  so,  to  the 
afflicted  family,  and  though  the 
body  had  several  weeks  before 
been  laid,  silently  and  sorrowful- 


104 


LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.  [Chap.  V. 


not  only  painful,  but  dangerous  to  health :  if  perse- 
vered in,  there  was  every  likelihood  of  permanent 
disability,  and  even  of  a  premature  ending  of  his  life. 


ly,  in  the  grave,  he  read  the  whole 
solemn  service,  every  word  and 
syllable  of  it,  over  the  remains 
of  his  dear,  good  friend.  This 
circumstance  is  worth  recording 
as  a  precedent;  as  an  instance  of 
Dr.  Kerfoot's  abiding  affection 
for  his  friends,  and  of  his  strong 
common-sense,  over-riding,  when 
necessary,  all  rubrics,  traditions 
and  prejudices,  and  also  as  a 
tribute  to  the  memory  of  one  of 
the  kindest  and  best  of  men. 

From  Dr.  Kerfoot's  diary : 

"  Saturday,  March  11, 1865.  .  .  . 
Sad  news  in  to-day's  paper  of  the 
sudden  death,  Wednesday  morn- 
ing, of  my  dear  old  friend  Trevett, 
eleven  years  my  co-worker  at  St. 
James's,  frum  1842  to  1853  [1854]. 
So  passes  away  one  and  another 
of  old  tics.  So  teach  me,  O  Lord, 
to  number  my  days  and  do  my 
work.     Wrote  to  Mrs.  Trevett. 

"  March  16, 1865.  Sad,  sad  let- 
ter from  Mrs.  T.  '  Sudden '  end 
of  her  husband. 

"April  5, 186.5.  From  New  York 
to  N.  Salem,  home  of  the  fam- 
ily of  my  poor  friend  Trevett. 
(Dr.  Muhlenberg  and  Dr.  Ogden 
on  train,  going  to  Kisco  to  look 
at  a  site  for  "St.  Johnland." 
Great  comfort  to  meet  by  chance 
and  see  so  much  of  dear  Dr.  M., 
both  ways,  to  and  fro.)  Found 
the  T.  family  sad.  Went  to  the 
grave  with  the  widow,  and  her 
uncle  and  some  parishioners,  and 


read  the  full  nei-vice;  by  mistake 
of  the  clergyman,  at  the  funeral 
on  the  11th  March,  no  prayers ! 
Helped  them  to  catalogue  library 
for  sale ;  there  three  hours.  Sad, 
satisfactory  visit,  useful  and  com- 
forting to  them.  In  New  York 
by  6.30;  saw  friend  Barton;  off 
at  8  p.  m.  to  Hartford;  home 
1.20  a.  m." 

In  1869  a  posthumous  volume 
of  excellent  sermons,  with  an 
affectionate  preface  by  Bishop 
Kerfoot,  was  published  by  Messrs. 
A.  D.  F.  Randolph  &  Co.,  of  New 
York. 

The  following  letter  from  Dr. 
Passmore  to  Dr.  Kerfoot  may  ap- 
propriately conclude  this  note : 
Eacine,  March  20,  1865. 

My  Dear  Friend, — Your  last 
letter  reached  me  a  few  days  ago 
with  its  sad  news  of  the  death  of 
poor  Trevett.  Dr.  DeKoven  men- 
tioned to  me  that  he  had  seen  it 
in  a  New  York  paper.  I  am  very 
greatly  obliged  to  you  for  writing 
to  me  at  once,  and  I  hope  if  you 
have  any  further  particulars  that 
you  will  let  me  know  them.  Mrs. 
P.  wrote  yesterday  to  Mrs.  Tre- 
vett  You  give  expression 

to  my  own  feeling  when  you  say, 
"Let  us  write  oftener.  Trevett' i 
death  makes  me  wish  this."  The 
removal  of  each  old  friend  makes 
us  cling  more  closely  to  those 
that  are  left.  Since  I  have  re- 
ceived your  letter  I   have  been 


1844.] 


THE  RECTOR'S  HEALTH. 


105 


How  serious  the  matter  was  appears  from  the 
following  extract  from  a  letter  of  Mr.  Kerfoot's  to 
Bishop  Whittingham: 

St.  James's  Hall,  Jan.  5,  1844. 

My  Dear  Bishop, —  ....  1  would  not  ask  you  to  come 
here  were  I  able  to  go  to  Baltimore,  that  we  might  talk,  as 
we  cannot  write,  about  matters  here.  For,  my  dear  Bishop,  I 
feel  sure  I  must  give  up,  and  that  at  once,  or  it  will  probably 
be  too  late.  No  escape  from  the  labor  of  ordinary  duty  can 
save  me  from  toil,  care  and  anxiety  (which  no  one  can  assume 
but  the  Rector)  which  a  sound  man  can  bear  with  his  strength, 
but  which  a  sick  one  cannot  bear.  As  to  following  my 
physician's  directions  here  I  have  not  done  it,  and  could  not 
do  it.  And  I  feel  and  see  (and  since  I  have  spoken  out, 
others  say  they  see)  that  my  unavoidable  disregard  of  them 
is  surely  wasting  my  life's  strength 

On  the  9th  of  January,  1844,  Dr.  Muhlenberg 
wrote  as  follows : 

My  Dear  John, — I  had  heard  from  other  sources  the  con- 
tents of  your  melancholy  letter  to  Van  B.,  which  I  have  just 
read.     "Fiat  Voluntas   Tua."     I   don't   see   that  anything 


thinking  over  the  many  plea- 
sant walks  I  used  to  have  with 
Trevett  (who  was  always  ready 
for  a  long  tramp).  Many  a  time 
have  we  gone  to  Hagerstown 
together  and  talked  the  whole 
six  miles  on  literary  or  theolo- 
gical matters.  And  very  much 
have  I  picked  up  in  that  way  from 
his  well-stored  memory.  Then, 
very  often  we  would  stop  and 
dine  with  old  Mrs.  Dorsey. 

And  now,  of  those  who  used  to 
be  at  her  table,  I  alone  am  left. 
The  old  doctor,  Mrs.  D.,  Trevett 


(all  80  good  and  kind,  and  so  in- 
tensely peculiar) — "all,  all  are 
gone — the  old  familiar  faces."  It 
really  makes  me  feel  old  to  miss 
so  many  with  whom  we  were 
once  so  intimate.  Death  and  dis- 
tance have  indeed  now  widely 
separated  the  old  colleagues  of 
St.  James's  !  Yet  Christian  hope 
may  lead  us  to  look  forward  to  a 
reunion  "  within  the  veil."  .... 
Hoping  to  hear  from  you  soon  and 
as  often  as  possible,  I  am,  truly 
and  affectionately  yours, 

J.  C.  P. 


106  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.  [Chap.  V. 

remains  for  you  but  to  "flee  for  yovu:  life."  In  all  human 
certainty  your  remaining  longer  at  the  Hall  would  only  be  an 
unprofitable  sacrifice  of  yourself.  The  school  might  have  a 
protracted  existence  for  a  few  months  more,  but  that  is  not 
to  be  set  over  against  the  prospect  of  your  restoration  to  use- 
fulness by  seeking  immediately  a  more  genial  climate.  I 
have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  you  ought  to  quit  at  once. 
Bishop  Whittingham,  in  a  letter  before  Christmas,  expresses 
a  strong  wish  that  you  may  be  content  to  remain  at  the  Hall, 
although  unable  to  do  anything ;  but  I  know  that  is  out  of 
the  question.  Your  mind  would  be  fretted  into  a  constant 
fever,  which  alone  would  make  you  sick ;  besides  that,  you 
would  have  the  nominal  responsibility  for  the  conduct  of  the 

school,  however  things  might  go.    The  Bishop  asks  how  R 

would  do ;  as  a  principal,  not  at  all,  besides,  I  doubt  if  he 
would  go.  He  speaks  of  Hewitt,  of  whom,  of  course,  I  can 
say  nothing.  He  then  proposes  Van  Bokkelen,  but  St.  Paul's 
must  be  taken  care  of  as  well  as  St.  James's.  He  says,  as  a 
"  pis  aller,"  he  will  take  the  school  himself;  of  that  you  can 
judge  better  than  I.  In  truth,  with  regard  to  the  continuance 
of  the  Hall,  which  I  fervently  hope  will  be  provided  for  in 
some  way,  I  have  nothing  to  propose.  I  have  enough  to 
keep  my  own  establishment  in  order.  We  have  no  supernu- 
meraries now ;  I  am  only  clear  on  one  point,  that  you  have 

done  your  duty 

Remember  me  very  kindly  to  Mrs.  K.  In  her  love  you 
have  at  least  one  earthly  solace  in  your  afflictions,  and  in  the 
little  darling,  too,  talking  so  sweetly  to  your  heart  with  his 
laughing  blue  eyes 

The  needed  rest  was  Ad  ally  obtained  by  securing 
the  Rev.  Reuben  Riley  as  vice-rector,  which  enabled 
the  rector  to  be  absent  for  a  short  time,  and  lessened 
the  requirements  upon  his  voice  and  energy  when  he 
returned.  Thus  this  second  imminent  blow  to  the 
newly  started  institution  was  averted.     Mr.  Joseph  C. 


1844.]  MARYLAND  CONVENTION.  107 

Passmore  was  also  soon  added  to  the  corps  of  profes- 
sors, and  subsequently  became  vice-rector. 

Extracts  fbom  the  Correspondence  of  the  Years 
1844-1850. 

The  Rec.  J.  B.  Eerfoot  to  Mrs.  Kerfoot^  Harlem^  New   York 
City. — The  late  Maryland  Convention.,  etc. 

College  of  St.  James,'  June  3d,  1844. 

I  am  writing  from  my  own  study,  my  own  dear  L.     It 

seemed  to  me  to-day,  as  T  drove  up  with  the  Bishop,  that 

you  surely  would  come  out  to  meet  me,  with  our  little  dear 

in  your  arms,  but  no  wife,  no  child  were  here  to  meet  me. 


As  to  my  health,  the  excitement  and  fatigue  of  last  week 
of  course  tried  me — less  severely,  however,  than  it  would 
have  done  some  time  since.  My  back  I  have  felt  a  good  deal, 
as  you  would  suppose  from  the  fact  of  rising  at  5  a.  m., 
prayers  at  6,  and  then  Convention  duties,  preaching  sermons, 
going  to  the  Holy  Communion  ;  dining  here  and  taking  tea 
there,  and  so  on,  until  11  o'clock  p.  m.,  daily.  On  Friday 
evening  we  were  in  session  until  11.45,  and  as  we  could  not 
adjourn  until  near  noon  on  Saturda}',  and  none  of  the  Bishop's 
friends  could   be  spared,^  we  all   stayed  in  Baltimore  until 

1  The  institution  had  been  in-  ,     ize.      The     promoters     of     the 

corporated  as  a  College,  with  full  j    scheme  were  members  of  Mr.  T. 

powers  and  privileges  under  the  B.   Lyman's  parish,   St.   John's, 

laws  of  Maryland,  and  the  name  Hagerstowu,    who    were    much 

and  style  was  changed  from  St,  '•    upset  by  certain  very  harmless 

James's  Hall    to    College  of   St.  improvements    (as    they    would 

James.  now  be  deemed)  in  the  chancel 

furniture.     In  particular  the  idea 

'  In   this   Convention  of   1844  of  having  a  Bishop's  Chair  gave 

there  was  a  vigorous  attack  made  ;    great  offence  as  implying  a  wrong 

upon  Bishop  Whittingham's  pol-  '     conception  of  a  Bishop's  office 

icy  and  church  principles.    There  and  dignity,  etc.     The  contest  in 

was  a  long  discussion,  too,  about  the    Convention  was    long    and 

a      new      congregation      called  bitter,  and  the  effects  of  it  were 

"Christ    Church,   Hagerstown,"  felt    in    Hagerstowu    for    many 

which  it  was  proposed  to  organ-  ,    years. 


108  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.  [Chap.  V. 

4  p.  m.  on  Saturday,  and  came  up  by  extra  from  Fred- 
erick with  the  Bishop,  reaching  Dr.  Dorsey's  at  4.15  a.  m., 
tired  but  well.     Dwiglit  [Lyman]  was  ordained  mi\\  another 

deacon  [Meyer  Lewin] As  to  our  Convention,  all  deem 

rA*  "flaff«r«- it  the  most  important  in  some  points  ever  held  here.  The 
w?w/ "'*'*^'^°'  ^^w  congregation,  called  Christ  Church,  Hagerstown,  was 
I'efused  admission  into  the  Convention  as  schismatical,  by  a 
large  majority.  The  Rev.  H.  V.  D.  Johns  urged  its  admis- 
sion earnestly,  and  with  him  three  other  Low  Church  clergy- 
men and  one  such  layman.  No  clergyman  opposed  it ;  three 
noble  laymen'  (as  was  best)  did  all  this — the  enforcement  of 
laj"  submission  to  their  pastors  ;  and  a  nobler,  grander  argu- 
ment than  theirs  I  never  heard.  Their  high  and  lofty  appeals 
to  duty  thi'illed  every  heart  and  brought  the  Church  up  to  her 

duty,  to  condemn  and  forbid  schism 

Saturday  morning,  Mr.  Johns  ....  offered  a  resolution 
requiring  the  Bishop  to  sign  himself  "  Bishop  of  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church  in  Maryland,''''  not  (as  he  does)  "Bishop 
of  Maryland."  The  Bishop  ruled  him  out  of  order,  as  touch- 
ing a  topic  of  his  own  duty,  which  he  would  not  allow.  Mr. 
Johns  appealed  to  the  Convention,  and  began  to  argue  his 
appeal.  Judge  Chambers  moved  to  lay  his  appeal  on  the 
table  and  thus  silence  him  at  once,  and  the  motion  prevailed 

by  a  large  majority 

The  close  of  the  Convention  was  very  impressive.  Bishop 
Whittingham  called  us  to  prayer,  and  then,  seemingly  recall- 
ing any  excited  feeling  or  word  of  his  own,  he  began  the  con- 
fession in  the  Communion -office,  and  was  so  much  moved 
that  the  big  tears  rolled  down  his  gaunt  face,  and  his  lips 
quivered  until  he  could  scarcely  utter  the  words  of  confession 
and  absolution.  I  saw  laymen  in  tears,  and  one  behind  me 
became  so  deeply  engaged  in  the  prayer  for  the  Church 
militant  that  he  burst  out  into  loud  repetition  of  its  words. 

Here  and  in  Hagerstown  all  is  warm  friendship,  and, 
dearest,  people  go  to  my  heart  by  their  kind  and  earnest 

'  Two  of  them.were  E.  F.  Cham-  I  third  was  probably  James  Mason 
bers  and  Hugh  Davey  EvaDS ;  the   I    Campbell. 


1844.] 


DR.  PASSMORE. 


109 


enquiries  after  you.  Tour  nearest  friends  enquire  very 
warmly.  B.,  sweet  girl,  came  over  early  yesterday  to  see 
me  ;  she  and  H.  McP.  are  in  town  at  Dr.  C.  D.'s.  It  seemed 
like  meeting  one  from  home.     I  go  to  Col.  Ball's  to-morrow. 

Mrs.  D.  sends  much  love I  will  write  again,  dear,  dear 

wife,  before  leaving Enclosed  is  a  private  note  to  ma. 

She  asked  for  some  friend,  unknown  to  me,  advice  as  to  a 
conscientious  difficulty  ;  the  enclosed  is  a.  private  reply,  which 
you  will  please  give  her  for  me.  And  now,  dearest  L.,  good- 
night ;  my  love  and  kiss  to  my  little  dear 


The  Rev.  J.  B.  Kerfoot  to  the  Bishop  of  Maryland. 

Devoe's  Point,  near  Haerlem,  N.  Y., 
November  16,  1844. 
My  Dear  Bishop, — I  received  yesterday  a  letter  ..,.., 
from  Joseph   C.   Passmore,'   Esq.,   of   Lancaster,  Pennsyl 


Joseph  V.  Pass- 
more. 


'  The  Rev.  Joseph  Clarkson 
Passmore,  D.  D.,  oae  of  Kerfoot's 
dearest  friends  and  long  vice- 
rector  of  the  College  of  St.  James, 
was  born  in  Lancaster,  Pa.,  on  the 
4th  of  June,  1818.  He  was  a  man 
of  tine  education  and  extensive 
culture.  He  first  studied  medi- 
cine, then  law,  which  he  practised 
for  several  years,  and  finally 
theology,  a  profession  which  was 
every  way  more  suited  to  his 
talents  and  turn  of  mind.  He 
came  to  St.  James's  on  the  invi- 
tation of  his  friend  Kerfoot  with 
his  wife.  Miss  Susan  Weller, 
daughter  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Weller, 
and  became,  in  succession  to 
Rev.  Reuben  Riley,  vice-rector 
of  the  College.  While  holding 
this  office  he  was  ordained  dea- 
con, with  Robert  Harper  Clark- 
son  (afterwards  Bishop  of  Ne- 
braska), in    the    chapel    of   the 


College,    on  the   18th    of   June, 

1848,  being  presented  by  the  Rev. 
Samuel  Bowman,  who  was  the 
uncle  by  marriage  of  both  the 
candidates.  He  was  ordained 
priest  by  Bishop  Whittingham  in 
Grace  Church,  Elkridge  Landing, 
Md.,  ou  Trinity  Sunday,  June  3, 

1849,  on  presentation  by  the  Rev. 
J.  B.  Kerfoot. 

Dr.  Passmore  and  Bishop  Clark- 
son  were  first  cousins,  both  being 
grandchildren  of  the  Rev.  Joseph 
Clarkson,  many  years  rector  of 
St.  James's  Church,  Lancaster, 
and  one  of  the  two  deacons  or- 
dained by  Bishop  White  at  his 
first  ordination  after  his  return 
from  England. 

Dr.  Muhlenberg  was  associated 
with  Mr.  Clarkson  during  the  last 
few  years  of  the  life  of  the  latter, 
and  succeeded  him  as  rector.  The 
Rev.    Samuel    Bowman    (whose 


110 


LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.         [Chap.  V. 


vania.  Mr.  P.  is  a  graduate  aud  former  instructor  in  St. 
Paul's,  and  I  know  of  but  one  other  among  all  our  gradu- 
ates there  who  is  his  equal  in  every  moral  aud  intellectual 
excellence  and  in  attainments.  He  left  St.  Paul's  for  the 
study  and  practice  of  the  law,  in  which  latter  he  has  now 
been  engaged  more  than  three  years.  Dr.  Muhlenberg  often 
spoke  to  me  of  his  hope  and  desire  that  Mr.  Passraore  would 
come  back  as  a  Professor,  and  we  both  thought  that  eventu- 
ally he  would  turn  to  the  ministry.  Such,  accordingly,  was 
the  subject  of  his  letter  to  me,  enquiring  for  a  post  in  St. 
James's,  from  his  special  wish  to  be  in  Maryland  and  under 
you. 

Could  I  have  chosen  from  all  the  young  churchmen  of  my 
acquaintance,  Passmore  would  have  been  my  first  choice. 
He  is  willing  to  teach  anything,  but  prefers  "mental  and 
moral  philosophy,  rhetoric,  constitutional  law,"  etc.,  the  very 
department  Dr.  Muhlenberg  always  proposed  among  us  for 
him,  if  he  would  ever  think  of  it.  Passmore  is  the  author  of 
many  pieces  of  poetry  which  appeared  in  the  Bmmer  (under 
the  letters  J.  C.  P.)  with  others  printed  in  12mo,  called,  I 
think,  '■'■Footprints."  He  has  lately  resigned  the  office  of 
agent  of  the  U.  S.  Bank  at  Vicksburg,  Mississippi,  from  dis- 
taste to  such  a  life,  and  now  is  looking  for  some  academical 
home  with  a  view  to  the  study  of  theology.  But  (there  is 
always  a  but)  alas  !  he  is  engaged.     The  lady  is  a  daughter  of 


second  wife  was  Harriet,  daugh- 
ter of  Rev.  Joseph  Clarkson)  was 
Dr.  Muhlenberg's  immediate  suc- 
cessor. 

Dr.  Passmore  was  Professor  of 
English  Literature  and  Mental 
Philosophy.  He  wrote  a  very 
graceful  style,  and  was  a  man  of 
exquisite  literary  taste,  of  a  meek 
and  amiable  temperament,  aud 
exemplary  in  every  relation  of 
life.  He  published  a  good  edition 
of  Bishop  Butler's  Ethical  Dis- 
courses (Philadelphia,  18.57),  pre- 


ceded by  an  Essay  on  Bishop 
Butler's  Life  and  Writings,  and 
he  contributed  several  valuable 
articles  to  the  True  Catholic, 
edited  by  Hugh  Davey  Evans. 

When  the  civil  war  made  it 
necessary  for  some  of  the  educa- 
tional force  of  St.  James's  to  take 
work  elsewhere.  Dr.  Passmore 
was  chosen  to  the  professorship 
of  English  Literature  in  Racine 
College,  which  he  held  until  he 
died,  much  lamented  and  beloved, 
on  the  12th  of  August,  1866. 


1844.]  BISHOP  B.  T.  ONDERDONK.  Ill 

the  lale  Dr.  Weller,  of  Vifksburg.  Still,  as  he  does  not  seem 
to  purpose  immediate  marriage,  and  is  a  chance  the  equal  to 
which  we  shall  not  soon  find  again,  I  have  written  to  him  to 
come  at  once  and  try  it  for  this  year.  Dwight's  probable 
retirement  will  leave  his  work  and  salary  to  Mr.  P.  One 
year  ahead  is  enough,  and  I  think  we  can  then  scheme 
something  to  keep  Mr.  P.  still  with  us.  His  letter  to  me  was 
not  an  express  application — only  an  enquiry 

The  Rev.  J.  B.  Kerfoot  to  the  Bishop  of  Maryland. 

Devoe's  Point,  N.  Y.,  Nov.  21,  1844. 
My  Dear  Bishop., —  ....     I  hope  you  will  pardon  my 
saying  something  more   of   Bishop  Onderdonk's   business.  Bp.  B.  T.  On- 

o  c  i-\       ■    J  f      1  i.      -u  re  u    derdonk's  case. 

Some  of  the  judges.,  of  whom  you  are  to  be  one  (if  rumor  be 

true),  put  themselves  in  the  way  of  influences  adverse  to 
Bishop  O.,  and  so  it  seemed  to  me  right  to  give  you  any  in- 
formation which  I  may  have  and  which  your  distance  keeps 
from  you.     Judge  Jones  and  Mr.  D.  B.  Ogden  have  offered 

themselves  as  counsel  to  Bishop  O ,  a  good  proof  of  their 

faith  in  his  cause,  and,  in  spite  of  past  events  which  I  told 
you  of,  I  wish  no  success  to  the  prosecution,  if,  as  it  appears, 
it  has  been  begun  and  thus  far  carried  on  in  violation  of  all 
the  courtesies  and  duties  obligatory  in  such  a  case.  All 
charges  have  been  abandoned  except  immorality,  and  this  is 
sustained  by  but  three  cases.   Chief  among  these,  and  of  latest 

date,  is  the  one  I  told  you  of  Mrs. .    The  fact  that  Mr. 

first  sought  my  advice  in  the  alleged  difficulty,  put  me 

in  the  way  of  believing  and  sympathizing  then  far  more  with 
him  than,  in  view  of  all  that  has  passed  since,  I  now  can  do. 

My  belief  in  Mr.  and  Mrs. 's  competency  as  witnesses, 

and  in  their  own  present  full  conviction  of  what  they  said 
when  under  excitement  (most  honestly,  I  believe),  is  greatly 
lessened  by  the  facts  that  they  have  since  entertained  Bishop 

O.  in  their  house,  and  that  Mrs.   then  received  him 

most  cordially  ;  and  further,  that  the  affidavit  now  given  (so 
says  Dr.  Muhlenberg,  who  read  it)  materially  modifies  the 
first  statement.    The  two  other  cases  fail  also,  if,  as  I  learn 


112  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.         [Chap.  V. 

on  good  authority,  the  testimony  in  one  case  is  opposed  by 
the  father  of  the  lady,  who  exonerates  the  Bishop  fully,  and 
declares  his  daughter  to  be  speaking  under  mistake  and 
excitement ;  and  that  of  two  ladies  (who  have  often  since 
visited  the  Bishop  in  his  study)  is  met  by  the  testimony  of 

their  pastor  against  their  fitness  as  witnesses.     Mr. 

and  that  maker  of  "neat  speeches  "  Mr.  J (who,  having 

no  business  of  his  own,  and  forgetting  his  youth,  meddles 
with  the  concerns  which  belong  to  gray-heads)  are  said  to  be  the 
hunters  of  evidence.  I  know  there  is  strong  feeling  arising 
in  behalf  of  Bishop  0.,  and  I  cannot  but  feel  with  others  that 
the  seeming  spirit  of  the  whole  proceeding,  the  impossibility 
of  finding  any  charge  newer  than  June  or  July,  1842,  and 
the  extreme  doubt  now  thrown  over  all  the  cases,  give  not  so 
much  reason  to  think  Bishop  0.  deserving  of  deposition,  as 
to  think  that  his  prosecutors  are  haunted  by  the  ghost  of  an 
heretical  ordination'  and  the  living  reality  of  the  official 
"Churchman."  I  have  been  mostly  in  the  way  of  hearing 
one  side,  but  still  I  think  mj  information  correct ;  and  hope 
you  will  not  think  me  amiss  in  thus  speaking  to  you,  espe- 
cially as  we  once  before  conversed  on  this  subject 

Through  Mr.  Anderson  I  learn  the  feelings  of  lay-gentlemen 

in  New  York With  my  love  to  your  whole  household, 

I  am,  very  affectionately,  your  son, 

John  B.  Kerfoot. 

The  Bishop  of  Maryland  to  the  Rev.  J.  B.  Kerfoot. 

Baltimore,  Aug.  11,  1845. 

My  Dear  Kerfoot., —  ....   Dr.  Nevin's  letter  is  very  cour- 

„    .,  teous,  but  adheres  to  his  use  of  the  term  "Puseyism,"  iust, 

Dr.  Nevin  on.  „   ,    .    .  .  ,  „  .  \  .\ 

•'Pmeyum."  he  says,  as  Lalvmism  is  used  for  convenience  and  to  get  rid 

of  troublesome  circumlocutions.     Of  my  allegation  of  the  in- 

definiteness  of  the  term  as  indicative  of  no  o?je  known  system, 

he  takes  no  notice.     He   says   that  if  Schaft'  and  he  were 

"shut  up  to  the  conviction  that  the  existence  of  the  Church 

'  The  allusion  is  to  the  famous  ordination  of  the  Rev.  Arthur  Carey 
bj-  Bishop  Onderdonk. 


1847.]  A  CASE  OF  CONSCIENCE.  113 

is  indissolubly  bound  to  an  external  episcopal  succession  as 
such,"  he  does  not  "  see  how  he  could  resist  the  pressure  with 
which  he  should  feel  himself  urged  to  take  shelter  in  the 
bosom  of  the  Roman  Church  itself."  He  persists  that  the 
idea  of  "apostolical  succession"  involves  the  denial  of  the 
"universal  priesthood  of  all  believers,"  and  the  affirmation  of 
"clerical  mediatorships." 

He  says  the  Oxford  movement,  "whether  new  or  old," 
while  it  has  called  forth  opposition  in  the  Episcopal  Church 
itself,  has  latterly  made  itself /leZ^  (his  own  underscoring)  in 
a  way  in  which  it  was  not  felt  before,"  and  "  carries  with  it 
much  that  is  attractive  to  our  hearts,  as  compared  with  the 
false  position,  in  many  respects,  of  the  opposite  interests." 

He  concludes  with  some  earnestness:  "The  subject  is 
high  and  solemn.  I  have  great  heaviness  and  continual 
sorrow  in  my  heart,  in  view  of  the  state  of  the  Church.  The 
present  posture  of  things  is  deplorably  wrong ;  and  the  pros- 
pect of  the  future  is  dark  and  discouraging.  My  only  hope  is 
that  God  is  bringing  us  fast  to  anew  epoch,  that  shall  involve, 
in  some  way,  the  breaking  up  of  all  our  existing  ecclesiastical 
relations,  and  their  recomposition  iixto  a  higher  and  better 
state."  ....  Afiectionately  yours, 

W.  R.  Whittingham. 

TJlc  Rev.  John  B.  Kerfoot  to  the  Bishop  of  Maryland. 

A  case  of  conscience.     Baptism  of  a  minor   when   a  parent 
objects  on  irreligious  grounds. 

College  of  St.  James,  Nov.  2,  1847. 

My  Dear  Bishop, — I  beg  your  advice  about  T.'s 

case.  He  returns  anxious  as  ever,  his  father  refusing  his  per- 
mission to  him  to  be  baptized.  T.  was  eighteen  in  June  last, 
has  sought  this  sacrament  for  fifteen  months  or  more,  and 
still  seeks  it.  What  is  my  duty?  No  arguments  will  move 
the  father.  Is  it  now  a  question  whether  God  or  man  is  to 
be  obeyed?  T.  feels  all  that  a  son  ought  to  do,  and  the  father 
puts  the  matter  on  the  sacredness  of  filial  duty.  His  retm-n 
to  college  was  perilled  by  this  thing.      f^Vhat  is  my  duty  ? 


114 


LIFE  OF  BISHOP  EERFOOT.         [Chap.  V. 


Bishop  Whittingham's  reply  was  as  follows : 

"T.'s  case  seems  to  me  a  hard  but  plain  one.  He  is  old 
enough  to  know  thoroughly  his  responsibilit)',  and  must  take  it. 
Your  duty  seems  to  me  to  be,  to  set  the  truth  before  him, 
and  leave  him  to  act.  All  that  his  father's  irreligious 
scruples  can  demand  is  fulfilled  by  your  punctilious  abstinence 
from  urging  the  matter  upon  the  son.  Let  it  be  really  and 
truly  his  act  and  deed,  and  then  in  the  name  of  God  let  him 
follow  Christ  even  if  his  father  hold  him  back.  There  must 
be  some  cases  in  which  the  command  to  choose  between  a 
father's  bidding  and  the  call  of  God  has  a  bearing,  and  if  ever 
there  was  one,  this  is  such.  The  only  question  is  about  T.'s 
fitness  for  the  choice ;  and  on  that  score,  I  think  even  his 
father  would  hardly  claim  that  the  legal  incompetency  of 
"  infancy  "  should  attach  to  him  in  such  a  question  as  that 
now  before  him.  He  is  to  vow  nothing  but  what  he  is  as 
much  bound  to,  in  his  own  knowledge,  and  in  his  father's 
view,  now  as  he  will  be  after  the  sacrament.  No  plea  of 
injury  to  his  after-interests,  in  any  view,  can  be  set  up. 
Why,  then,  should  he  be  kept  out  of  the  seal  of  God's  bless- 
ing and  his  own  salvation?'  .  .  .  ." 

Among  Kerfoot's  fellow-laborers  in  these  earlier 
years  was  one  who,  along  with  Dr.  Passmore,  deserves 
i;w/(o?>  6ta7-^- particular  mention — Clarkson,  afterwards  Bishop  of 
Nebraska. 

Robert  Goodlow  Harper  Clarkson,"  one  of  the  best 
known  of  all  Kerfoot's  pupils,  was  born  in  the  now 


1  Compare  a  valuable  letter  in 
Mr.  Keble's  Letters  of  Spiritual 
Counsel.  It  was  written  to  a 
lady  whose  parents,  being  Dis- 
senters, objected  to  her  being 
baptized  in  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land. See,  also,  Bishop  J.  Tay- 
lor, Ductor  Dubitantiurn,  Bk.  Ill, 


Ch.  V,  Rule  4.  ''The  Father's 
Power  doth  not  extend  to  Matter 
of  Religion  and  Persuasions  of 
Faith.'" 

2  In  later  years  he  dropped 
Goodlow,  not  wishing  to  have  so 
long  a  name,  and  signed  himself 
Robert  H.  Clarkson. 


1847.]  BISHOP  CLARKSON.  115 

renowned  village  of  Gettysburg,  on  the  19th  of 
November,  1826.  Graduating  at  Gettysburg  College 
in  1844,  he  became  tutor  in  St.  James's  College,  and 
there  began  the  study  of  theology  under  the  guidance 
and  instruction  of  Kerfoot,  and  was  ordained  in  the 
College  Chapel  with  his  cousin  J.  C.  Passmore,  on 
June  13,  1848.  Shortly  afterwards  he  married  Miss 
Meliora  McPherson,  of  a  family  well  known  and  much 
esteemed  in  Maryland,  and  became  rector  of  St. 
James's  Church,  Chicago,  a  new  church  in  what  was 
then  a  new  town.  He  grew  up  with  the  great  city  to 
which  he  had  emigrated,  and  soon  became  from  his 
high  character  and  devotion  to  duty  (especially  his 
unselfish  care  for  the  sick  and  poor  during  the 
frightful  epidemic  of  cholera  in  1849)  one  of  the  most 
respected  and  beloved  clergymen  in  all  the  western 
country. 

His  department  at  St.  James's  was  history,  and 
without  any  pretensions  to  extensive  learning,  or  wide 
reading,  he  was  a  popular,  interesting  and  very  useful 
teacher.  The  boys  were  fond  of  him,  and  he  could 
impart  what  he  knew  in  an  entertaining  manner. 

His  true  vocation,  however,  was  pastoral  work ;  and 
the  eminent  qualifications  which  he  manifested,  his 
strong  practical  sense,  the  absence  of  all  affectation, 
and  his  unbounded  sympathy  and  zeal,  led  to  his 
election  by  the  House  of  Bishops,  in  1865,  as  Mis- 
sionary Bishop  of  Nebraska  and  Dakota.  The 
appointment,  which  was  made  during  the  session  of 
the  General  Convention,  was  received  with  universal 
approval,  and  as  the  first  Bishop  of  Nebraska  his 
name  has  become  widely  known  over  the  whole 
American  Church.     His  consecration  in  St.  James's 


116  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.  [Chap.  V. 

Church,  Chicago,  preceded  that  of  Dr.  Kerfoot  bj  a 
few  weeks  only.  On  his  frequent  journeys  from 
Nebraska  to  the  East  he  would  constantly  stop  for  a 
few  hours  at  least  in  Pittsburgh,  and  run  up  to  the 
Bishop's  house  on  CliiF  street,  to  talk  over  old  times, 
to  consult  on  present  church  questions,  or  to  grasp 
the  hand  and  look  in  the  face  of  the  guide  of  his 
early  manhood  and  friend  of  his  maturer  years.  He 
was  full  of  merry  humor,  and  his  visits  were  regarded 
as  great  treats  by  all  Bishop  Kerfoot's  family.  Bishop 
Clarkson,  as  was  natural  from  his  genial,  afiectionate 
temperament,  was  a  capital  letter- writer;  his  letters  are 
always  entertaining,  not  unfrequently  highly  amusing. 
Out  of  a  considerable  number  written  from  Chicago, 
the  following  is  appended  to  this  chapter  as  a  memorial 
of  the  man  and  of  his  warm  affection  for  Kerfoot. 

The  Rev.  R.  H.  Clarkson  to  the  Rev.  J.  B.  Kerfoot. 

Chicago,  Illinois,  June  12,  1849. 

First  immes-     ^V  -^^^^  ^^'  Kerfoot^ — I  have  been  waiting  until  we  were 
sions  of         all  quiet  and  settled  to  write  you  a  good  long  letter.    I  have 

Chicago.  ,  -,  ■,  '  i  •   • 

been  here  now  nearly  a  month,  and  have  a  pretty  clear  visiou 
of  men  and  things.  The  congregation  is  rather  larger  than  I 
had  supposed.  The  church  building  is  older  and  not  so  fine 
as  I  imagined,  but  we  hope  to  accomplish  the  contemplated 
repairs  during  the  summer  or  fall.  The  number  of  com- 
municants is  nearly  one  hundred,  and  the  average  morning 
attendance  is  now  between  three  and  four  hundred.  Trinity 
congregation  is  larger,  though  it  is  more  floating,  and  the 
number  of  church  members  much  less.  It  is  right  in  the 
business  heart  of  the  city,  whilst  we  are  ofl"  in  the  quiet 
retirement  of  the  Lake  Shore  among  the  residences.  It  is  on 
the  south  side  ;  St.  James's  on  the  north  side.  Rev.  Mr. 
Unonius  has  a  congregation  of  one  hundred  communicants, 


1849.]  BISHOP  CLARKSON.  117 

but  no  chvu-ch.  I  see  a  great  deal  of  him  :  he  is  a  thorough 
Xashotah  Churchman,  and  he  must  have  a  church.  His  people 
ai'e  poor.  On  the  west  side  of  the  river  there  is  a  fine  field 
for  a  young  man.  It  is  more  populous  than  the  north  side, 
and  without  a  chui:ch  service.  We  think  of  starting  an  after- 
noon service  there,  and  a  congregation  can  be  collected  we 
have  no  doubt,  and  a  church  built. 

People  here  worship  "'  the  dollar  "  more  idolatrouslv  than  I  ^orshipof 

-  •'  ifi^  dollar. 

ever  could  imagine  men  with  reason  and  souls  could  do.   In  the 

East  our  Church  would  be  called  wealthy  and  influential.   The 

pecuniary  condition  of  the  Church  is  very  gratifying  to  me:  it 

owes  nobody  and  pays  as  it  goes,  and  will  not  become  liable 

beyond  its  abilit}'.     The  principal  men  are  men  of  enterprise, 

influence  in  society,  and  in  good  business.    The  religious  tone 

throughout  the  parish  is  very  gratifying  to  me  also.     I  think 

that  they  are  good  people,  that  they  want  to  love  God  and  serve 

Him,  and  to  bring  up  their  children  religiously.     As  churchmen 

they  are  not  well  informed,   but  they  seem   to   be   docile, 

teachable,  and  desirous  to  know  what  they,  as  chm-chmen, 

ought  to  believe.    We  hope  for  much,  through  God's  good 

Spirit,  from  our  Parish  Library  which  is  to  be  started.    The 

people  are  very  warm-hearted  and  kind.     When  I  was  sick 

I  was  waited  upon,  and  caressed,  and  cared  for  with  as  much 

tenderness  and  real  anxiety  as  if  I  had  been  the  child  of  each 

one  of  them.     Do  not  think  me  extravagant,  but  I  do  really 

believe  that  for  unity  of  feehng  and  purpose,  devotion  to  right 

for  right's  sake,  attachment  to  theu:  church  and  parish,  and 

true-heartedness,  there  is  not  a  better  set  of  people  in  any 

church  in  the  country.     I  might  give  you  particular  instances 

of  all  these  characteristics  that  would  make  you  think  so  too, 

but  such  things  are  not  for  letters.     Mr.  B.  is  an  affectionate 

man  in  his  manners,  but  a  radical.     He  is   quite  kind   and 

fatherly  to  me,  but  I  keep  my  eye  open. 

It  is  quite  hard  for  you  to  believe,  is  it  not,  that  I  am 

married  and  really  in  my  own  house,  writing  now  in  my  own 

parlor,  with  M.  reading  Longfellow's  Spanish  Student  by  my 

side  ?  .  .  .  .    Our  house  is  all  furnished,  though  we  three  are 


118  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  EERFOOT.  [CiLVP.  V. 

not  enough  to  fill  it.    Will  you  not  come  in  the  summer  and 
sit  by  our  table  with  us  and  be  one  of  us  ?  ...  . 

The  Cholera  in     The  cholera  is  all  around  us It  has  only  reached  one 

or  two  cases  in  the  higher  classes,  but  the  lower  are  dying  more 
rapidly  than  people  know  and  want  to  know.  We  have  a  sov- 
ereign preventive,  founded  on  chemical  principles.  I  wrote 
of  it  to  Mr.  Passmore — do  pay  regard  to  it,  it  is  no  quackery. 
....  A  great  many  persons  have  left  the  city,  and  are  leaving 
every  day.  I  want  M.  to  go  to  the  East  with  her  sister  until  the 
danger  is  over,  but  she  will  not  go  without  me,  and,  of  course, 
I  will  not  leave  my  post.  We  have  both  had,  what  every  one 
here  has  had,  the  disease  in  its  earlier  stages,  but  when  taken 
then,  it  is  as  easily  cured  as  a  common  diarrhoea.  The  weather 
has  been  exceedingly  cold,  and  even  now  we  use  fires  con- 
stantly; this  is  one  reason  why  the  cholera  has  only  pre- 
vailed among  those  who  live  imprudently  and  uncomfortably. 
In  some  cases  that  have  come  to  my  knowledge  it  has  been 
sadly  rapid  in  its  work.  Yesterday  a  young  man  at  10  o'clock 
was  walking  along  Water  street  in  perfect  health — at  one,  a 
coffin  was  carried  into  his  house.  He  had  been  seized  and 
died  and  his  coffin  made  in  those  three  hours.  The  disease  is 
not  one  for  which  a  clergyman  can  do  much,  there  is  so  much 
excitement  and  alarm  among  the  friends,  and  the  victim  is  in 
so  much  pain  and  cries  out  so  constantly,  that  it  is  with 
extreme  difficulty  that  even  the  prayers  of  the  Church  can  be 
said  over  him.  Last  week  our  washerwoman  was  here  with 
two  as  fine  and  rosy-looking  children  as  can  be  found,  running 
about  our  yard  all  day.  To-day  she  is  here  at  her  wash-tub, 
and  they  are  both  in  their  graves.  I  have  been  seriously 
thinking  of  opening  the  church  for  daily  prayers  and  having 
but  one  sermon  on  Sunday  until  the  epidemic  has  passed. 
If  I  had  not  been  here  so  short  a  time  and  there  were  not 
other  arrangements  that  I  desire  to  make  I  would  have  no 
hesitancy.  But  I  do  not  want  to  seem  too  full  of  new  things 
yet  awhile,  until  we  know  each  other  better,  and  have  more 
mutual  acquaintance  and  confidence. 
Bishop  Phiian-  The  Bishop  has  postponed  our  Convention  which  was  to  have 
der  Chase.        j^een  held  in  St.  James's  Church  on  the  18th  of  June  (next  Mon- 


1849.]  BISHOP  CLARKSON.  119 

day).  The  time  and  place  have  not  been  designated.  It  is 
generally  thought  here  that  the  Bishop  will  never  meet  another 
convention.  He  is  very  frail  and  failing  and  childish,  though 
I  have  received  a  letter  from  him  that  did  not  evidence 
dotage,  except  that  he  hoped  I  would  prefer  "the  Bible  to 
mediaeval  traditions  !  " — to  which,  of  course,  I  assented.  The 
Bishop  and  our  parish  are  on  good  terms,  though  the  parish 
refused  to  obey  an  injunction  he  laid  upon  it — to  elect  a 
clergyman  who  could  be  his  assistant.  How  his  assistant 
will  be  supported  no  one  can  tell,  unless  at  the  College.  Oh, 
if  we  had  St.  James's  regimen  and  rule  at  Jubilee,  the  whole 
Church  in  Illinois  would  clap  its  hands  in  delight.  It  owns 
$60,000  worth  of  property  and  is  perfectly  unencumbered. 
But  it  is  also,  unfortunately,  unencumbered  with  the  confidence 
and  respect  of  the  people.  No  one  will  send  a  child  there 
whilst  it  is  in  the  present  hands,  though  there  are  now  gentle- 
men in  my  parish  who  want  to  send  their  sons  to  a  college. 
Thus  far  I  have  no  reason  to  regret  my  coming,  indeed  most 
abundant  cause  in  every  way  to  be  glad  and  thankful  and 
satisfied  that  I  was  right.  Of  course  I  have  often  still  long- 
ing memories  of  dear  old  St.  James's,  and  hope  to  have  as 
long  as  I  have  a  memory.  Your  brother  and  family  are  very 
well ;  he  is  very  much  engaged  in  his  business  now  and  I  do 
not  see  him  often,  but  whilst  I  was  sick  he  was  here  every 
day  once  or  twice.  I  do  wish  we  could  see  you  at  our  little 
gate  coming  in.  When  shall  it  be?  ....  M.  and  M.  send 
their  best  love  to  you  and  to  Mrs.  Kerfoot.  As  we  are  just 
now  returning  our  visits  it  would  give  us  great  pleasure  to 
step  in  and  see  you,  but  as  you  might  not  be  at  home  M. 
says  she  will  leave  her  card.  Tell  Mrs.  Kerfoot  to  put  it  in 
her  card-basket,  and  keep  it  until  she  can  bring  it  to  us,  or  we 
go  in  person  and  claim  it. 

The  Romanists  have  a  college  here  and  a  splendid  church 
and  a  nunnery,  and  almost  all  the  poorer  classes.  The 
Presbyterians  are  the  strongest.  All  kinds  of  heresies  are 
rife.  The  Swedenborgians  are  very  numerous  and  respectable. 
The   Episcopalians   are   looked  upon,  and   they  look   upon 


120  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.  [Chap.  V. 

themselves,  as  a  very  respectable  class  of  people,  that  say 
their  prayers  out  of  a  book  and  listen  to  a  preacher  who  wears 
either  a  white  gown  or  a  black  gown.  Remember  me  very 
kindly  to  all  the  gentlemen,  and  if  you  have  time  write  to 
me,  but  do  pray  for  me. 

Believe  me,  dear  sir,  very  truly  your  attached  and  faithful 
friend,  R.  H.  C. 


CHAPTER  YI. 

MUHLENBERG,  WHITTINGHAM  AND  KERFOOT. 

Part  I. — Letters  from  Dr.  Muhlenberg. 

Nothing  is  more  striking  and  interesting  in  survey- 
ing the  character  and  career  of"  a  man  like  Kerfoot 
than  his  long,  intimate  and  unchanging  friendship 
with  two  remarkable  men — Muhlenberg  and  Whit- 
tingham.  The  Lives  of  both  these  men  have  already 
been  given  to  the  world,  and  that  of  Kerfoot,  their 
friend,  pupil  and  associate,  in  an  interesting  supple- 
ment. Bishop  Coxe,  in  his  eloquent  Commemorative 
Sermon/  with  great  discrimination,  points  out  how 
Kerfoot  was  indebted  to  these  two  teachers,  while  he 
yet  retained  his  own  marked  individuality  and  inde- 
pendence : 

The  sources  of  a  good  and  grand  life  often  lie  out  of  sight,  BUhap  Coxe's 
like  the  springs  in  the  mountain  whirh  expand  into  mighty  sermon. 
rivers.  Great  authors  have  delighted  to  trace  the  concur- 
rences that  made  St.  Paul  what  he  could  not  have  been  with- 
out his  exceptional  nationality  and  training.  So  the  Church's 
saints  may  be  accounted  for;  notably  its  Athanasius  and  its 
Augustine.  So  we  may  edify  ourselves  by  the  lives  of  our 
own  worthies,  in  this  Apostolic  Church  of  America;  of  la}'- 
nien  like  William  Welsh  and  Clement  Moore  and  Hugh 
Davey  Evans  ;  of  priests  like  Bedell  and  Wilson  and  Jarvis 
and  W3'att ;  of  bishops  like  White  and  Hobart  and  Seabury. 


'  The  WorliVs  Benefactors.  A 
commemorative  sermon,  picach- 
ed  in  Trinity  Church,  Pittsburg, 


October  18th,  1881,  before  the 
Special  Convention  of  the  Dio- 
cese. 


122  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.  [Chap.  VI. 

Never  shall  we  be  a  truly  great  church  till  we  make  more  of 
such  examples  ;  till,  on  occasions  like  this,  we  open  our 
diptychs,  and  recite  such  precious  names  with  a  holy  emula- 
tion to  follow  theii"  bright  examples.  And  take  now  the 
fresher  memory  of  Kerfoot.  Without  denying  that  he  had 
native  gifts  and  gracious  properties  original  with  himself,  I 
feel  that  we  can  discern  in  his  history  a  fashioning  hand 
which  ordered  his  surroundings  and  shaped  all  the  antece- 
dents of  the  educator  and  the  bishop.  Crediting  him  with  a 
base  of  excellent  natural  endowments,  I  think  he  is  a  con- 
spicuous instance  of  what  older  benefactors  can  do,  in  creating 
benefactors  to  follow  them.  In  his  ways  of  thought,  in  his 
manner  of  life,  and  even  in  his  speech  and  gesture,  I  used 
often  to  recognize  something  of  the  two  holy  and  eminent 
men  who  were  his  patterns,  under  Christ.  You  anticipate 
me  when  I  cite  the  dear  names  of  Muhlenberg  and  Wliitting- 
ham.'  These  eminently  great  and  pious  men  were  utterly 
dissimilar,  save  as  they  were  both  godly  and  Christ-like  ; 
yet  something  of  each  was  visible  in  Kerfoot,  and  he  blended 
in  a  remarkable  degree  certain  elements  of  their  characters, 
apparently  the  most  diverse.  To  his  loving  relations  with 
the  one  we  owe  the  qualities  which  enabled  him  as  a  Christian 
school-master  to  surpass  his  teacher ;  to  his  Timotheus-like 
association  with  the  Pauhne  genius  of  the  other,  I  think  he 
was  beholden  for  much  of  that  martyr-spirit  which  made 
him  so  devoted  and  so  successful  a  bishop  in  a  missionary 
diocese. 

Bo  not  mistake  me.  Bishop  Kerfoot  was  no  imitator ; 
quite  the  reverse.  Like  all  strong  men,  he  was  always  him- 
self; he  could  assimilate,  but  he  could  not  copy.  What  we 
may  even  admire  in  a  Muhlenberg  would  be  insuflferable  in 
another  sort  of  benefactor ;  what  was  praisewortliy  in  a 
Whittingham  might  be  oflensive  if  imitated  by  any  one  less 
than  his  equal  in  intellectual  stature,  in  learning,  in  ascetic 
self-denial,  in  views  of  life  and  duty  far  removed  from  those 

'  [To  these  might  have  been  I  degree,  the  name  of  Bishop  Sam- 
added,  though  not  in  the  same   '    uel  Bowman.] 


1849.]  BISHOP  COXE'S  SERMON.  123 

of  less  extraordinary  men.  To  catch  something  from  such 
great  examples  and  yet  to  make  up  something  wholly  his 
own,  was  the  instinct  and  faculty  of  Kerfoot. 

It  is  forty  years  since  I  met  him,  in  his  early  manhood, 
accompanying  Dr.  Muhlenberg,  on  a  summer  tour  amid  lakes 
and  mountains.  A  mere  boy  myself,  just  freed  from  college 
life,  and  hardly  daring  as  yet  to  think  of  the  sacred  ministry 
as  ray  subsequent  destiny,  I  recall  with  gratitude  the  influ- 
ence of  their  society.  Oh  I  that  the  reverend  clergy  would 
always  reflect  on  the  influence  they  may  exert  by  the  most 
casual  contact  with  youth.  Little  could  I  then  foresee  our  rela- 
tions in  after-years,  much  less  this  solemn  hour  when  I  stand 
before  you  to  review  his  career  as  complete  and  his  example 
as  that  of  departed  worth.  But  this  long  knowledge  of  his 
life  and  labor  quaHfies  me  to  speak  of  him  in  his  fundamental 
character  as  a  man.  Manhood  first  and  to  begin  with  ;  then 
the  baptized  man,  the  Christian ;  after  that,  the  Christian 
hero,  the  benefactor  of  the  world.  His  was  eminently  an 
unselfish  stock,  and  it  was  grafted  with  a  fruitful  scion  of 
grace.  His  ambition  was  to  be  largely  useful.  He  lived  for 
no  private  ends ;  emphatically  his  was  that  spirit  so  elo- 
quently eulogized  by  Burke — a  "public  spirit."  No  sordid 
coveting  of  wealth,  no  petty  eagerness  for  distinction,  much 
less  was  his  a  capacity  to  intrigue  for  promotion,  to  pant  for 
place,  to  envy  more  fortunate  brethren,  or  to  exalt  self  by 
base  detraction.  I  believe  his  master-motive  was  the  love  of 
Christ,  the  love  of  souls  and  a  burning  zeal  for  the  service  of 
that  Church  in  which  he  believed  are  garnered  up  the  treas- 
ures of  grace  that  is  sacramental,  with  all  that  comes  to  us  from 
a  primitive  antiquity  and  the  long  line  of  Truth's  witnesses  and 
a  divine  succession  of  the  benefactors  of  the  human  race.  I 
have  often  observed  in  him,  conspicuously,  the  workings  of 
these  noble  elements  of  Christian  manhood.  To  a  personal 
bearing  always  dignified  and  manners  wholly  free  from  artifice 
and  devoid  of  aft'ectation,  time  and  experience,  not  unmixed 
with  sorrows,  imparted  an  expression  of  earnestness  which 
occasionally  was  almost  painful.  He  deeply  felt  what  he  said 
or  did.    His  nature  was   aflectionate  and  sincere,   and  it 


124  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KEBFOOT.       [Chap.  VI. 

prompted  the  kindling  eye  and  tlie  open  hand.  To  a  primitive 
simplicity  he  added  a  chastened  beauty  of  behaviour,  which 
shone  out  in  his  love  of  children  and  his  sympathy  with  the 
poor.  He  was  inflexible  without  narrowness  or  bigotry.  He 
could  not  be  less  than  devoted  to  any  task  that  he  undertook 
for  God,  or  for  God's  children.  As  a  preacher,  the  force  of 
his  convictions  made  him  always  interesting  and  often  elo- 
quent ;  but  his  was  the  eloquence  not  of  the  actor,  but  of  the 
evangelist.  He  cared  not  to  please  men  ;  he  burned  to  per- 
suade them.  So  he  could  censure  without  bitterness  and 
contend  without  malice.  He  discharged  his  duty  fearlessly, 
and  left  the  rest  to  his  Master. 

The  warm  affection  of  Kerfoot  for  Dr.  Muhlenberg, 
BO  fully  reciprocated  by  the  latter,  has  been  brought 
out  to  some  extent  in  the  previous  chapters.  Bishop 
Coxe  was  quite  within  the  mark  in  all  that  he  said  in 
his  sermon  ;  had  he  read  the  actual  correspondence 
he  might  have  expressed  himself  even  more  strongly. 
It  remains  to  complete  this  part  of  the  subject  by 
printing  a  selection  from  the  letters  of  Muhlenberg  to 
Kerfoot.  Less  than  one- third  of  the  number,  extend- 
ing over  many  years,  is  presented  in  this  chapter.  As 
all  of  Kerfoot's  letters  were  unfortunately  destroyed 
with  Dr.  Muhlenberg's  MSS,  the  tenor  of  his  replies 
can  only  be  imagined.  Most  of  Dr.  Muhlenberg's 
letters,  even  his  shoi-test  and  most  hurried  notes,  are 
interesting,  either  as  touching  on  some  topic  of  the 
day,  or  containing  some  characteristic  opinion  or 
turn  of  expression  ;  and  they  all  shed  light  upon  his 
relations  with  Kerfoot,  which  for  the  purposes  of  this 
volume  is  the  point  chiefly  to  be  considered. 

After  Dr.  Muhlenberg  had  passed  through  the 
Tractarian  phase  (as  described  by  himself.  Life  and 


1840.]       LETTERS  FROM  DR.  MUHLENBERG.         125 

Work,  p.  171,  etc.),  and  had  reverted  to  Ms  former  evan- 
gelical turn  of  thought  (though  with  a  difierence, 
which  he  denoted  by  his  favorite  expression,  "  Evan- 
gelical Catholic"),  he  was  ever  fond  of  poking  fun,  in 
his  kindly  way,  at  his  old  pupil  for  the  High  Church 
views,  which  he  had  himself  first  instilled,  by  praising 
Newman's  sermons  and  reading  them  in  the  chapel 
at  College  Point.  Under  Bishop  Whittingham's 
influence  and  his  own  further  reflection  Kerfoot's 
High  Church  principles  were  in  some  respects, 
perhaps,  intensified,  in  others  somewhat  modified, 
especially  after  the  shock  of  Newman's  secession  to 
Rome.  Kerfoot  kept  up  this  good-humored  banter 
with  his  old  school-father  (with  now  and  then  a 
serious  argumentation),  but  it  never  in  the  least 
degree  aflected  the  love  and  respect  of  each  for  the 
other.  The  very  foibles  of  Dr.  Muhlenberg  (so  far  as 
he  had  any)  were  amiable,  and  he  died  as  he  had 
lived,  honored  and  venerated  by  all — almost  wor- 
shipped as  a  saint  by  those  privileged  to  live  in  close 
contact  with  him  and  know  somewhat  of  his  inner 
life.  If  Kerfoot's  letters  were  extant  we  should  per- 
haps know  just  where  and  why  he  felt  bound  to  difler  in 
speculative  theology  from  his  old  master  and  friend.  The 
points  of  difi"erence,  however,  come  out  pretty  plainly 
in  some  of  Dr.  Muhlenberg's  amusing  letters.  Where 
it  seems  desirable  a  note  will  be  appended  to  explain 
some  allusion  that  might  not  be  clear  to  readers  of 
the  present  day ;  otherwise  the  letters  will  be  given 
in  chronological  order  without  comment. 

New  York,  Feb.  24,  1840. 
My  Dear  John, — I  have  not  forgotten  you  this  week,  and 
should  have  returned  on  Monday,  but  I  hope  to  perfect  my 


126  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.         [Chap.  VI. 

cure  by  staying  until  Thursday.  I  cannot  disapprove  of  your 
f^''(P°'''^  intention  to  be  baptized,  with  your  views  of  the  matter ;  at 
any  rate  it  is  erring  on  the  safe  side.  The  rite  should  be  per- 
formed by  the  Bishop,  and  as  you  propose,  in  private,  there- 
fore, of  course,  we  will  say  nothing  about  it — more  when  I 
see  you. 

I  expect  to  preach,  hoping  my  throat  will  be  sufficiently 
well. 

Kemember  me  to  Libertus  and  Dr.  Hawks.    The  Lord  be 
with  you.    Most  aftectionately, 

W.  A.  M. 

College  Point,  N.  Y.,  Nov.  12,  1845. 
Secession  of  My  Dear  John, —  ....  For  a  week  or  two,  if  not  more, 
the  church  [of  the  Holy  Communion]  will  make  it  necessary 
that  I  should  be  in  New  York,  but  I  still  hope  to  see  you.  I 
trust  you  will  believe  me  when  I  say  that,  reluctant  as  you 
know  I  always  am  to  leave  home,  I  look  forward  to  spending 
a  little  time  with  you  as  a  great  pleasure  in  reserve.  I  want 
to  have  some  long  talks  with  you,  more  especially  on  this 
crisis  of  the  "Catholic  movement'' — for  so  I  regard  the  de- 
parture of  Newman.  I  was  expecting  it,  but  still,  from  some 
little  things  I  heard,  or  rather  from  some  vague  feeling  in  my 
mind,  I  was  in  hopes  it  might  not  happen  ;  so  that  when  I 
was  abruptly  assured  he  had  gone,  ray  heart,  for  the  moment, 
died  within  me.  I  can  understand  everything  but  his  re- 
baptism,  and  that  is  too  bad.    I  have  a  good  deal  to  tell  you, 

which  I  have  got  from  Forbes 

Jan.  29,  1847. 
Birth  of  Wm.     jjfy  Dear  John, — Thank   you  for   the  honor.     As  I  grow 

Mnhlenbercj  J  i  J  & 

Kerfoot.  older  I  value  more  and  more  the  marks  of  aftection  m  my 
"  children,"  among  whom  I  believe  there  is  not  one  truer  than 
yourself.  Amari  ah  amato  is  better  than  laudari  a  laudato. 
But  my  namesake  (do  kiss  the  sweet  child  a  hundred  times 
for  me)  must  have  the  whole  of  my  name.  He  must  be  an 
August  namesake.  I  hope  this  will  come  before  his  baptism. 
He  was  born  too  on  the  eve  of  St.  Paul's — a  good  sign  for 


1847.]       LETTERS  FROM  DR.  MUHLENBERG.         127 

the  college — whicli  college  ?— either  ;  or  perhaps  a  sign  that 

St.  Paul's  is  to  be  developed  on  St.  James,  and  that  is  the 

right  order,  for  works  are  the  development  of  faith.    Excuse 

my  writing  in  such  haste.    I  have  stopped  in  the  midst  of  a 

sermon.     Remember  me  most  affectionately  to  Mrs.  K.  and 

your  mother.    My  regards  to  all  the  faculty,  not  forgettiug 

Clarkson.    Yours  as  ever, 

W.  A.  M. 

New  York,  March,  18,  1847. 

My  Bear  John., — Thank  you  for  Blanchy's  music,  tell  him  it 
is  very  pretty.  A  little  too  secular  for  us  grave  folks  at  the 
Communion  Church.  I  did  not  mean  to  urge  the  adoption  of 
my  whole  name  for  your  little  boy,  I  only  wanted  him  to 
have  the  hest  part  of  it.  It  has  always  been  a  sad  misnomer 
for  me.  Billy  has  been  the  true  name.  I  hope  Mrs.  K.  is 
well,  please  make  her  my  congratulations  on  being  the 
mother  of  another  Christian. 

Has  Bishop  Whittingham  a  place  in  his  diocese  for  Milo  ^I'^^o  Maiian. 
Mahan  ?  If  he  has  not,  he  had  better  make  one  and  secure 
Milo,  for  he  is  the  first  man,  in  intellect,  in  the  Church, 
young  or  old,  I  had  almost  said.  I  do  not  believe  he  will 
stay  at  St.  Paul's  after  August  next  (this  I  say  in  confi- 
dence, strictly  in  confidence),  and  I  think  he  would  rather 
be  in  your  diocese  than  in  most  others.  He  ought  to  have 
a  bishop  whom  he  could  respect  for  his  learning  and  abilities, 
as  well  as  his  office,  for,  like  all  men  of  talent,  he  may 
have  too  much  confidence  in  his  own  powers,  though  I 
must  say  he  is  quite  modest.  He  can  do  the  Church  good 
service  under  right  direction,  and  Whittingham  is  the  only 
man  we  have  in  the  Episcopate  capable  of  directing  him, 
and  therefore  I  think,  for  the  good  of  the  Church,  he  ought  to 
be  in  your  diocese.  He  would  like  to  raise  a  congregation  in 
Baltimore.  If,  in  connection  with  some  duty  of  that  kind, 
he  could  be  a  sort  of  examining  chaplain  to  the  Bishop,  for 
his  candidates  for  orders,  it  would  be  exactly  the  thing  for 
Milo.  I  have  no  objection  to  your  writing  to  Bishop  W.,  but 
without  speaking  positively  as  to  Milo's  leaving  St.  Paul's, 


128  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.       [Chap.  VI. 

you  might  say,  from  what  you  know,  you  think  it  likely  he 
would  come  to  Maryland.    He  would  want  a  salary  of  some 

$600 If  the  Bishop  could  hear  some  of  his  sermons 

I  am  sure  he  would  say  he  must  have  him.  He  would  be  a 
grand  fellow  in  battling  the  Romanists.  He  is  tired  to  death 
of  teaching,  or  there  would  be  a  chance  of  his  going  to  St. 
James's  ;  with  him  as  an  examining  chaplain,  the  Bishop 
could  have  the  advantage  of  a  theological  school,  without 
the  name  of  one. 
Dr.  M.  a  \^Su-  Where  are  you  now  in  these  times  of  ecclesiastical  meta- 
morphosis  ?  Still  a  Jew  ?^  Well,  if  I  am  a  Samaritan,  the 
chances  are  pretty  good.  When  the  Jews  said  to  our  Lord, 
"Thou  art  a  Samaritan  and  hast  a  devil,"  He  took  no  notice 
of  the  first  charge,  as  if  it  were  not  so  very  bad,  at  least 
compared  with  the  latter.  Now  I  believe  the  Church  of 
Rome  is  possessed  with  the  devil.  I  cannot  find  that  the 
Church  of  the  elect  has  ever  been  confined  to  the  walls  of 
the  Church  Catholic  on  earth.  Those  Samaritan  Quakers, 
how  gloriously  they  have  been  doing  in  Ireland,  angels  of 
mercy  in  the  midst  of  the  famine.  Their  subscriptions 
amounted  to  as  much  as  all  the  nobility  with  the  Queen  at 
their  head,  and  here  they  have  been  the  most  liberal  con- 
tributors. The  committee  of  all  denominations  here,  Bishop 
Hughes  among  them,  unanimously  agreed  to  send  the  amount 
collected  by  them  to  the  central  committee  of  Quakers  in 
Dublin.  It  is  strange  to  see  Bishop  Hughes  and  Jacob 
Harvey,  a  leading  Quaker,  working  together  so  heartily,  and 
somehow,  notwithstanding  I  am  such  an  extremel}'  High 
Churchman,  it  is  refreshing  to  my  soul.  Did  you  ever  think 
of  all  that  generation  in  the  wilderness  that  were  uncircum- 
cised.  Do  you  think  they  were  out  of  the  covenant  7  Moses 
does  not  speak  to  them  as  if  they  were,  nor  does  the  Lord 
deal  with  them  as  aliens.     They  partook  of  the  manna,  that 


'  [Dr.  Muhlenberg  is  probably 
making  a  playful  allusion  to  a 
High    Church   sermon  preached 


request.  It  was  entitled,  "The 
Confidence  of  a  Certain  Faith," 
and  the  text  was    St.  John    iv. 


by  Mr.    Kerfoot   in    the  College        22,   We    know  what  we    worsJnp: 
Chapel  in  1845,  and  published  by    |   /or  salvation  is  of  the  Jews.} 


1848.]       LETTERS  FROM  DR.  MUHLENBERG.         129 

sacramental  bread  of  the  wilderness,  being  in  uncircumcision; 
you  might,  however,  draw  an  argument  for  admitting  those 
who  have  received  only  lay  baptism  (supposing  you  even 
think  it  no  baptism)  to  the  Holy  Communion.  I  should  like 
very  much  to  talk  with  you  as  in  olden  times.  I  believe  there 
are  but  two  systems— Aut  Papa,  aut  Christus.  Our  Anglo- ^«^  Pct^a, 
Catholicism  I  fear  is  a  fiction.  It  wants  substantiality.  It 
is  a  nice  thing  for  the  intellect,  but  it  has  nothing  for  the 
heart.  Wherever  it  seems  to  work,  the  active  power  is  some- 
thing foreign  to  it.  Take  your  own  school — you  are  the  life 
and  soul  of  it :  you  leave,  and  what  vitality  is  there  in  the 
church  system  you  talk  of  to  keep  things  going  ?  And  tcAai 
is  the  life  and  soul  olyour  religion  but  that  same  good  old  gospel 
stuff  that  would  have  sent  you  to  Mardin'  if  Bishop  Whit- 
tingham  had  not  come  that  night — that  memorable  night — to 
College  Point.  Good-bye,  it's  most  time  to  go  to  church.  We 
have  large  congregations  in  Lent,  three  lectures,  or  readings, 
or  sermonettes  a  week.  The  people  are  at  a  loss  to  classif}' 
our  churchmansliip.  The  Evangelicals  like  us  better  than 
the  High-and-drys,  but  they  are  puzzled.  A  lady  said  to 
another,  "I  like  all  I  hear  at  your  church  very  well,  but  I 
see  &o  Tsxach.  I  do  not  like."  "Your  ears,  then,"  replied  the 
other,  "must  discipline  your  eyes  ;  we  walk  by  Faith,  not  by 
sight ;  and  Faith  cometh  by  hearing." 

Good-bye  again,  you  see  how  well  I  like  to  chat  with  you. 
If  the  bell  were  not  ringing,  I  might  keep  on  another  page 

or  sheet Ever  your 

W.  A.  M. 

New  York,  May  9,  1848. 

My  Dear  JoTin, — Your  letter  is  so  horribl}'  written  I  can 
scarce  decipher  it.  I  might  well  ask  you  to  write  it  over 
again  before  answering  it ! 

I  can  imagine  your  grief  and  that  of  your  household  at  the 
first  death  among  your  school-children,  and  I  am  sure  it  will 
not  be   yot(r  fault  if  the  affliction  is  not  converted  into  a 

1  [To  join  Dr.  Southgate.] 


130  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.         [Chap.  VI. 

blessing.  I  need  not  add  that  for  that  you  have  my  prayers. 
I  would  say  more  to  assure  you  of  my  sympathy,  but  I  have 
time  only  to  answer  the  enquiries  of  your  letter.  I  can  get 
you  quite  a  rich  circular  window,  4  feet  in  diameter,  for  about 
$30,  and  will  order  it  when  you  say  so. 

I  fear  I  shall  not  be  able  to  visit  you  in  June,  as  my  sister 
intends  to  go  travelling  that  month,  and  I  cannot  be  away 
from  m}'  mother  at  the  same  time ;  so  that  my  advice  with 
Daily  service,  regard  to  the  daily  service  I  must  give  you  in  few  words  on 
paper.  If  you  inti'odzice  it,  hy  no  means  make  attendance  com- 
pulsory on  tJie  boys,  not  even  on  the  communicants.  A  short  ser- 
vice morning  and  evening  is  enough  for  any  of  them.  I  tell  my 
own  people  that  I  do  not  icish  to  see  them  twice  a  day  at  church, 
except  those  who  have  leisure  thus  to  consecrate. 

Family  and  private  devotions  I  know  are  suffering  frovi  this  ■ 
fashion  {for  I  fear  it  is  getting  to  he  such)  for  church-going. 
Besides,  ^'•Dearly  Beloved''^  twice  a  day  is  an  absurd  formality 
both  for  minister  and  people,  and  the  confession  and  absolu- 
tion so  constantly  repeated  is  tinfavorable  to  genuine  penitence 
and  any  due  appreciation  of  the  ^''pardoning  power  of  the 
priest."  Whatever  it  be,  all  our  services,  of  course,  must  he 
penitential  more  or  less,  and  the  frequent  use  of  '■'■  Ki/rie 
eleison"  in  all  liturgies  is  very  proper.  But  that  is  very 
different  from  a  solemn  and  regular  confession  and  absolution 
at  every  morning  and  evening  prayers.  You  know  it  was  not 
so  in  the  first  Book,  and  it  was  not  until  after  several  reviews 
that  these  additions  were  made  to  the  evening  prayer.  If  I  had 
time  I  would  write  a  tract  on  this  subject  that  would  convince 
everybody  that  I  am  right.  Be  mainly  concerned  about  your 
boys  entering  "into  their  closets  "  and  their  using  themselves 
to  ejaculatory  prayer  wherever  they  are.  ISTevertheless, 
whenever  it  is  practicable,  I  thinlc  that  a  parisli  church  should 
be  open  every  morning  and  evening,  that  the  people  may 
repair  thither  whenever  they  can,  and  find  the  priest  minis- 
tering there  in  his  place  in  behalf  of  the  whole  congregation. 
So  great  is  my  dread  of  frequent  and  long  public  services  upon 
children  that  it  is  my  chief  objection  to  .choristers  chanting  the 
service  daily.     Look  at  the  English  cathedral  boys.    I  enquired 


1848.]       LETTERS  FROM  DR.  MUHLENBERG.         131 

of  the  organist  at  Westminster  u-hether  some  of  them  did  not 
become  clergymen.     He  never  heard  of  such  a  thing! 

If  I  hear  of  any  one  suitable  for  you  in  sacred  music, 
French,  etc.,  I  will  tell  him  of  tlie  place. 

I  took  it  very  hard,  my  dear  John,  that  you  could  aflford  so 
little  time  to  spend  with  me  when  you  were  last  here.  I 
have  shown  that  I  am  ready  to  serve  you  at  the  expense  of 
time  and  convenience ;  something  more,  then,  than  some 
twenty  minutes  might  have  been  afforded  me  out  of  several 
days.  The  Andersons  certainly  have  large  claims  upon  you, 
but  are  those  of  your  old  friend,  patron  and  father  so  small  ? 
However,  I  am  quite  used  to  such  things.  It  is  "  Billy's  "  lot. 
With  my  love  for  your  family,  ever  yours, 

W.  A.  M. 

New  York,  May  15,  1848. 

My  Dear  John, — I  have  just  read  the  obituary  in  the  Church 
Times  of  your  first  pupil,'  gone  to  his  rest,  with  great  satis- 
faction. It  is  done  very  beautifully,  and  with  so  much 
naturalness  and  feeling,  yet  in  a  way  peculiarly  your  own. 
To  a  discerning  and  feeling  mind  it  tells  more  for  the  College 
than  anything  else  you  have  written.  I  thank  God  most 
devoutly  that  St.  James's  is  an  offspring  of  St.  Paul's.  Your 
notice  of  death's  entrance  among  you  at  Eastertide  is  full  of 
meaning  and  very  touching. 

The  crape  among  the  emblems  of  the  Resurrection  is  an 
answer  to  any  one  prejudiced  against  the  use  of  such  outward 
and  visible  signs  in  divine  service. 

I  liked  especially  the  way  in  which  you  state  your  ground 
of  hope  in  regard  to  the  deceased.    You  do  not  say  he 

was  baptized he   preserved  his   baptismal  robe   of 

innocence   undefiled,   therefore  he   is   safe,    as    an    "ortho- 
dox" churchman  would  have  said.     You  dwell  with  satis- 
faction   on    the    evidences    of   McP.'s    piety,    like   a    good 
evangelical.     By  the  way,  "  Evangelical  Catholic  "  would  he  Eiangdical 
a  good  name.     You  say  it  would  be  tautology,  and,  strictly  ^°'^^''^- 

1  [Thomas  McPherson,  nephew  by  marriage  of  Bishop  Clarlison.] 


132  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  EERFOOT.         [Chap.  VI. 


speaking,  it  would,  but  not  as  the  terms  are  understood.  The 
Evangelical  and  the  (catholic  element  are  both  in  our  Church, 
and  it  is  the  peculiar  excellence  of  our  branch  of  the  Church 
that  they  both  are  there,  not  as  antagonistic  principles,  but 
one  as  the  vivifying  and  the  other  as  the  conservative 
element. 

I  have  to  thank  you  for  your  tribute  of  justice  to  St. 
Paul's  in  your  communication  to  the  Churchman.  It  is 
right  thus  to  keep  the  folks  in  mind  of  what  they  might 
otherwise  forget,  and  to  inform  some  of  what  they  never 
knew. 

I  will  attend  with  pleasure  to  getting  you  a  church  window, 
as  I  mentioned  in  my  last.    Yours  as  ever, 

W.  A.  M. 

New  York,  June  20,  1848. 

My  Dear  John, — From  my  prompt  letters  about 

this  matter  of  stained  glass  I  fear  you  think  that  my  zeal  in 
Catholicism  is  only  about  its  ribbands  and  flounces;  my 
churchmanship,  a  matter  of  taste,  as  you  told  me  when  you 
were  last  here.    But  I  am  sure  you  know  better. 

Ever  yours,  W.  A.  M. 

New  York,  June  27,  1848. 
Dear  K., — Evidently  you  have  the  window  wrong  ....  so 
please  alter  it ;  the  rough  side  is  put  in,  it  not  being  observed 
against  the  light.  Thank  you  for  j'^our  account  of  your  two 
happy  days,  so  far  as  I  can  make  it  out.  Your  handwriting 
gets  worse  and  worse.  In  haste  yours, 

W.  A.  M. 

P.  S. — Your  work  wears  hard  on  you,  but  you  work  on  for 
the  Master's  sake.  Thrice  blessed  the  work  that  we  do  07ily 
for  His  sake  :  such  can  never  be  easy  work.  There  is  no  fol- 
lowing of  Him  without  more  or  less  of  suffering;  that  is  the  price 
we  pay  for  the  honor  of  being  His  servant ;  and  yet  how  we 
all  shrink  from  the  cross.  We  lean  upon  it,  as  truly  we  must, 
but  we  want  to  lounge  upon  it.     Dr.  Schroeder's  arm-chairs 


1849].      LETTERS  FROM  DR.  MUHLENBERG. 


133 


with  a  cross  for  the  back,  on  which  the  sitter  comfortably 
leaned,  were  truly  symbolical,  not  of  what  he  meant,  but  of 
the  Christian  life  of  too  many  of  us.  Perhaps  after  a  while 
you  will  have  a  call  to  some  other  work,  as  distinct  as  the 
voice  which  now  keeps  you  where  you  are.  God  give  us 
grace  to  be  attentive  to  the  divine  word  always. 

W.  A.  M. 


New  York,  Sep.  25,  1849. 
My  Dear  John, — To  write  you  a  long  letter  has  been  one  of 
the  things  I  have  been  going  to  do  all  summer,  and  the 
autumn  is  likely  to  pass  away  leaving  it  among  the  things 
undone.  (Query. — Has  the  absolution,  now  so  cheap  with  Absolution. 
us  daily-service  folks,  any  eflect  in  making  us  easy  in  leaving 
things  undone  ?)    At  present  I  can  ofl'er  no  more  than  an 

apology  for  a  letter I  lost  one   of  the  anticipated 

pleasures  of  the  vacation  in  not  seeing  you.  I  say  vacation 
from  old  habit,  but  the  summer  has  had  no  vacation  for  me ; 
except  a  day  or  two  now  and  then  at  College  Point,  and  three 
or  four  days  lately  at  Saratoga,  I  have  not  been  absent  from 
the  city.  The  cholera  prevailed  principally  in  our  part  of  the  The  cholera. 
town,  indeed  my  neighborhood  was  quite  an  infected  district. 
Never  has  my  ministry  been  more  of  a  reality  ;  not  so  much 
among  my  own  congregation  as  among  the  poor  generally. 
On  the  Fast  day  the  collection  amounted  to  $326,  and  it 
enabled  me  to  do  a  great  amount  of  good,  partly  in  prevent- 
ing sickness.  One  of  the  cholera  hospitals  was  made  part  of  our 
pastoral  care.  None  of  the  regular  members  of  my  church 
were  carried  off  (although  many  were  sick,  indeed  we  all 
were  more  or  less)  except  one  of  my  singing  boys,  a  lovely 
little  fellow,  whose  loss  has  aflected  me  more  deeply  than  I 
could  have  imagined.  His  dying  kiss  seems  to  have  imprinted 
his  image  on  my  mind  indelibly.'  I  am  happy  in  hearing  of 
your  good  spirits  for  your  work  and  your  encouraging  pros- 


'  [See  Life  and  Work  of  Dr. 
Muhlenberg,  p.  219,  for  a  further 
account  of  the  death  of  this  little 


boy,  to  whom  Dr.  M.  was  tenderly 
attached.] 


134  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.       [Chap.  VI. 

pects.  Christian  education  is  the  work  of  the  Lord,  but  it  is 
not  that  in  which  we  can  most  neariy  follow  Christ.  I  did 
think  this  summer  I  was  walking  more  in  the  footsteps  of  my 
Master  than  ever  before.  Please  excuse  this  hasty  letter. 
There  are  several  things  in  yours  I  have  not  noticed.  My 
very  affectionate  remembrances  for  Mrs.  K.  and  my  name- 
sake.   Ever  yours, 

W.  A.  M. 

New  York,  Oct.  10,  1849. 
My  Dear  John^ — I  send  you  a  line  to  say  that  I  have  heard 
of  a  man  who  I  think  will  suit  you  as  musician.  He  can 
train  a  band,  is  a  tolerable  pianist,  plays  on  several  instru- 
ments, can  train  a  choir,  etc.,  etc.,  has  a  good  moral  character, 
is  a  German  with  the  distinguished  name  of  Mendelsohn.  .  .  . 
You  see  a  majority  in  our  convention  are  willing  to  have  B. 
Bishop  B.  T.  0.  T.  0.  back  again,  though  by  no  means  all  who  voted  for  what 
looks  like  it.  So  be  it.  I  hope,  however,  the  Bishops  will 
understand  their  duty  better  than  to  throw  our  Diocese  in  the 
condition  which  must  follow  from  thus  ending  the  suspension; 
not  that  I  would  be  a  rebel:  while  I  would  hold  up  an 
hundred  hands  against  a  reinstatement  of  Bishop  O.,  I  would 
hold  up  a  thousand  against  not  acknowledging  him  when  duly 
restored.     Hoping  you  open  with  bright  propects,  ever  yours, 

W.  A.  M. 

New  York,  Oct.  11,  1849. 
My  Dear  John^ — I  have  seen  Mr.  Mendelsohn  of  whom  I 
spoke  in  my  last,  and  am  much  pleased  with  him.     He  has 
been  used  to  teaching  in  a  college  in  Germany,  loves  his 
business  and  can  do  all  you  want.     He  speaks  English  suffi- 
ciently  well,    and  is   quite   a  gentleman    in    his    manners. 
Moreover,  to  cap  the  climax  of   his   qualifications  for  St. 
Jeivs  and  James's,  he  is  a  Jew!     I  feared  he  might  be  a  Samaritan^  i.  e.  a 
I  cms.  Ly^jjgj-an^  a  Presbyterian,  or  a  schismatic  of  some  kind,  but 
no,  he  is  actually  a  Jew.    So  now  you  are  suited !    I  thought 
I  might  engage  him,  as  he  is  satisfied  with  the  terms  without 


1849.]      LETTERS  FROM  DR.  MUELENBERG.  135 

waiting  to  hear  from  you,  but  as  he  asked  me  whether  his 
being  a  "  Yew  "  (as  in  his  German  dialect  he  expressed  it) 
would  be  any  objection  to  him,  I  concluded  I  had  better  make 
the  enquu'y.  The  man  is  an  Israelite,  but  a  very  liberal  one, 
has  no  objection  to  teaching  on  Saturday,  has  trained  choirs 
in  Lutheran  and  Roman  Catholic  chapels,  composed  music 
for  Christian  words.  Now  such  a  Samaritmt  Jew  might  not 
suit !    To  be  serious,  this  is  the  solitary  objection  to  the  man, 

and  you  must  let  me  know  whether  it  be  an  objection 

I  promised  him  an  early  answer.  He  says  he  is  a  Jew  in 
religion,  not  in  ceremony.    Yours, 

W.  A.  M. 

New  York,  Oct.  30,  1849. 

My  Dear  John, —  ....  I  am  very  sorry  to  hear  all  vow:  ""^(olyJie- 

-.,„„.         loved"  young 

boys  are  to  be  driven  mornmg  and  evenmg  to  the  lull  service ;  brethren. 

they  must  be  "  Dearly  Beloved  "  young  brethren  indeed  if 

they  come  voluntarily.     "  Est  modus  in  rebus  "  in  religion  as 

well  as  in  other  matters.    Have  you  heard  that  Forbes  is 

going  over  to  the  Roman  "sect"?    He  has  resigned  St. 

Luke's  and  is  now  doing  nothing.    I  have  reason  to  believe 

that  his  mind  is  made  up  ;  others,  however,  think  diflerently. 

....  We  had  a  delightful  time  on  St.  Luke's  Day,  which  Firs/  menfion 

Z  .  of  tit.  Luke's 

was  kept  in  our  congregation  as  a  special  thanksgivmg  tor  jio-^pitai. 
deliverance  from  the  cholera.  A  good  congregation  and  a 
large  number  of  communicants,  though  on  a  week  day. 
Several  clergy  were  present.  Three  addresses,  one  from 
Dr.  Wainwright  on  the  subject  of  a  church  hospital,  to 
which  the  thank-ofierings  were  appropriated,  $300.  I  said 
my  say  about  this  Apostolical  Chm-ch  of  ours  without  a  soli- 
tary asylum  for  the  sick  poor — her  own  sick  poor,  within  her 
bounds — which  the  clergy  liked  so  much  that  they  want  me 
to  say  it  again  before  a  larger  congregation  on  some  Sunday 
evening,  which  D.  V.  I  intend  doing. 

The  poor  "Yew''  was  quite  heart-broken  that  he  lost  the 
chance  of  getting  into  a  college.    Yours  as  ever, 

W.  A.  M. 


136 


LIFE  OE  BISHOP  KERFOOT.         [Chap.  VI. 


New  York,  Dec.  10,  1849. 
PauiKrikm-ian.  My  Dear  John, — What  AM  I  to  do  with  Paul?'  There  are 
no  vessels  sailing  from  this  port  to  Smyrna ;  from  Boston  I 
learn  that  there  is  one  in  two  or  three  weeks  hence,  meaning 
probably  four  or  five  weeks.  Now,  in  the  meanwhile,  how  is 
Paul  to  be  disposed  of?  My  house  is  so  full  that  I  have  been 
obliged  to  turn  a  young  man  out  of  his  room  to  put  Paul  in, 
supposing  it  would  be  for  only  a  day  or  two.  Under  these 
circumstances  I  wrote  to  Mr.  Anderson  to  keep  him,  but  he 

declines  principally  on  account  of  Alen What  am  I 

to  do?  Don't  be  surprised  to  see  Paul  back  again,  though  I 
doubt  if  he  would  go — so  I  am  fixed  there  again.  What  am 
I  to  do  with  Paul  Krikorian  ?  I  cannot  help  wishing,  with 
Mr.  Anderson,  that  "the  good  people  at  St.  James's  had 
been  a  little  more  deliberate  in  their  action."  With  Paul 
Krikorian  what  am  I  to  do  ? 

W.  A.  M. 

New  York,  Jan.  28,  1851. 
My  Dear  John, — So  I  hear  you  have  been  packing  off  lots 
of  boys.    That's  right ;  there  is  no  other  way.      A  chm'ch 
A  church  school  school  is  not  a  garden  to  raise  weeds  in  ;  but  alas  !  as  long 

not  a  garden  to  i         i         i       i  •  t     xi         i  -i  i  p  xi        •   i 

raise  weeds  in.  as  church  schools  can  receive  only  the  children  oi  the  rich, 
they  will  be  raising  crops  of  weeds.  You  can  only  do  your 
best  by  rooting  out  the  most  noxious.  "The  sower  goes 
forth  to  sow  the  seed  :  the  field  is  the  world."  A  church  is  a 
little  field  within  tliat  field,  where  you  find  all  the  varieties  of 
soil — the  beaten  highway,  the  thin  layer  of  earth  over  the 
rock  beneath,   the  ground  where  the  seeds   of  thorns  and 


'  [Paul  Krikorian  was  the  first  of 
the  Greek  Cliristiaus  sent  over  by 
Mr.  Southgate  to  be  educated,  in 
response  to  Mr.  Kerfoot's  desire 
to  do  something  in  aid  of  the 
mission  in  the  East,  in  which  he 
had  once  hoped  to  be  personally 
engaged.  His  ungovernable  tem- 
per made  him  a  difficult  subject 


to  deal  with,  and  led  to  his  being 
consigned,  rather  hastily,  to  the 
temporary  care  of  Dr.  Muhlen- 
berg preparatory  to  his  return  to 
Constantinople.  Another  student 
from  Greece,  whose  career  was 
somewhat  more  successful,  was 
named  Hatchadoor  Utygian.] 


1851.]       LETTERS  FROM  DR.  MUHLENBER&.         137 

thistles  abound,  and  the  soil  of  the  honest  and  good  heart. 
And  hence  you  find  the  seed  picked  up,  or  withering  for  depth 
of  earth,  or  choked  by  the  weeds  springing  up  together  with 
it,  or  bearing  fruit  some  twenty,  some  thirtyfold,  and  only  a 
proportion  is  productive.  So  it  would  be  in  a  school  of  little 
children,  a  church  nursery  of  an  hundred  baptized  little  ones. 
The  same  phenomenon  in  the  end  would  appear.  This  does 
not  look  as  if  feop^ism  made  the  "honest  and  good  heart." 
Yours  as  ever, 

W.  A.  M. 

New  York,  April  14,  1851. 
My  Dear  xS'on,— And  so  the  good  Shepherd  has  taken  youat  Death  of  Di-. 
your  word.  You  said  you  gave  Him  up  Willie,  at  his  baptism,  ndnmaie. 
You  then  put  the  dear  child  in  His  arms,  and  now  you  see  "g"^,^'^' 
what  that  meant.  Now  you  are  tried  whether  you  really  felt 
what  you  were  then  doing.  Yes,  I  know  you  were  sincere 
in  surrendering  the  boy  to  Him  who  loved  him  better  than 
yourself,  and  would  have  deliberately  made  no  reserve ;  but 
now  that  you  have  actually  given  him  up,  nature  of  course 
feels  the  separation.  Heart-strings  cannot  be  rent  without  a 
pang.  There  would  be  no  worth  in  the  offering  if  it  cost 
nothing.  I  do  not  rebuke  your  tears,  much  less  the  bereaved 
mother's  ;  but  you  both  have  faith,  and  the  faith  which  your 
very  tears  will  strengthen  will  dry  up  your  tears  ;  though 
indeed  it  hardly  requires  faith,  or  at  least  a  high  degree  of  it, 
to  reconcile  you  to  your  loss,  when  you  think  what  the 
beloved  one  has  escaped  in  so  early  a  translation  from  a 
world  of  sin ;  at  best,  how  much  sorrow  and  temptation !  and 
how  much  worse  you  cannot  tell.  Had  he  stayed  with  you 
and  grown  up,  you  might  sometimes  have  had  fearful  doubts 
whether  his  name  were  written  in  the  Book  of  Life.  But 
now  you  are  told  it  is.  That  all  children  dying  in  infancy  are 
among  God's  elect,  is  the  confidence  of  Charity  ;  that  all 
baptized  children  are,  is  the  assurance  of  Faith ;  they  have 
upon  them  the  seal  of  the  covenant,  though  the  covenant 
embraces  all  for  whom  Christ  died. 


138  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.        [Chap.  VI. 

This  is  a  cold  letter,  but  I  have  attended  the  funerals, 
within  the  past  year,  of  so  many  little  ones  that  I  have  almost 
got  into  the  way  of  congratulating  their  parents  rather  than 
condoling  with  them.  How  can  I  condole  with  you  that  my 
bright  little  namesake  has  been  called  by  Him  who  called 
His  own  sheep  by  name?  I  cannot  grieve,  nor  will  you  and 
his  mother  very  soon,  l^ay,  you  do  not  71010  grieve  that  he 
has  his  place  in  the  flock  amid  the  green  pastures  and  the 
still  waters.  May  the  Lord  manifest  Himself  unto  you  not 
as  He  doth  unto  the  world. 

I  got  your  telegraph  in  the  midst  of  duty,  so  that  I  could 
only  send  it  immediately  to  Mr.  Anderson's.  I  am  now 
going  there  to  see  them,  though  probably  I  shall  find  them 
gone. 

I  sent  you  the  tracts  you  desired,  and  will  make  what  use  I 
can  of  your  circular.  With  my  aflectionate  sympathy  for 
yourself  and  wife,  W.  A.  M. 

April  15,  1851. 

My  Dear  John, —  ....  I  hope  you  did  not  think  my  letter 
of  yesterday  wanting  in  feeling.  It  would  have  been  better 
a  week  hence,  perhaps,  than  when  your  grief  is  so  fresh. 
You  must  not  call  it  the  condolence  of  a  monk.  I  preached 
a  sermon  on  the  death  of  children  some  time  ago  which  some 
of  my  congregation  thought  could  have  been  written  only  by  a 
parent. 

For  you  the  joys  of  Easter  are  at  hand.  "Woman,  why 
weepest  thou?"  is  my  text  for  that  morning.  Mary  did  not 
know  it  was  Easter,  or  she  would  not  have  continued  at  the 
sepulchre  weeping.  God  give  you  all  the  comfort  of  that 
Easter  message  which  Mary  was  told  to  carry  to  the  disciples  : 
"  I  ascend  to  my  Father  and  your  Father,  to  my  God  and 
your  God."    Yours  as  ever,  W.  A.  M. 

New  York,  July  1,  1851. 
Death  of  Dr.     Thank  you,  my  dear  John,  for  telling  me  in  your  letter  to 
'vnother.  ^^  *  ^^^  ^7  mother  s  orders  about  coming  down  to  St.  James's. 
It  is  your  testimony  that  I  have  been  in  the  habit  of  obeying 


1852.]       LETTERS  FROM  DR.  MUHLENBERG.         139 

her  even  in  things  about  which  men  of  my  age  seldom 
consult  a  mother.  Now  that  she  is  no  more — as  I  dare  say 
you  have  heard  ere  this — it  is  a  sweet  reflection  that  I  have 
been  a  dutiful  son  ;  not  indeed  always  so  dutiful  as  I  ought  to 
have  been.  I  recollect  times  when  I  have  spoken  impatiently 
and  for  a  moment  seemed  regardless  of  her  wishes,  that  now 
fill  me  with  painful  regret.  I  look  back  and  try  myself 
whether  1  have  been  what  I  ought  to  so  loving  and  wise  a 
mother.  The  words  in  your  letter  are  evidence  in  my  favor, 
and  you  don't  know  what  joy  they  gave  to  my  self-accusing 
heart.  I  know  she  would  have  been  pleased  with  what 
Bishop  Whittingham  said,  and  would  desire  me  to  go.  So, 
not  to  say  I  have  no  other  motive,  I  will,  please  God,  be  with 
you  on  the  29th.  I  shall  be  glad  of  the  opportunity  of  saying 
in  a  natural  way  what  I  think  of  St.  James's.'  I  expect  to 
travel  with  my  sister  this  summer,  and  possibly  we  may  at 
that  time  be  on  our  way  from  the  Virginia  Springs,  which 
have  been  recommended  for  her  health.  I  hope  you  and  I 
will  make  a  trip  to  Saratoga  this  summer.  By  speaking  to 
Mr.  Anderson  and  several  of  the  trustees  of  the  Seminary  I 
have  got  Dr.  Cruse  appointed  Librarian — very  happy  shall  I 
be  to  have  my  old  friend  near  me.  The  salary  allowed  is  but 
$100,  but  I  have  pledged  myself  to  Mr.  Anderson  to  make  it 
$300.    With  my  love  to  Mrs.  K.  and  Abel,  ever  yours, 

W.  A.  M. 

New  York,  Nov.  26,  1852. 
My  Dear  John. — I  was  a  few  moments  ago  thinking  about  ''p;]">\9e(icai, 
St.  James's,  when  your  letter  was  handed  me,  and  xii\x.c\\  mtneUdng  more 
delight  it  gave  me  as  I  read  it.     Thank  you  for  thinking  of     '  ''' 

writing  it  to  me.  I  am  just  making  up  the  matter  for  the 
next  E.  C,  and  why  may  not  this  go  in?  It  tells  more  of  the 
Eedeemer's  grace  than  all  that  the  ministers  have  been 
saying  of  Webster  and  Wellington.  I  am  glad  to  hear  what 
you  say  of  William  Passmore.    Do  drop  me  a  line  to  say 

'  It  was  on  this  occasion  that  he    I    ing  of  the  corner-stone  of  Kemp 
delivered  his  address  at  the  lay-    I    Hall.    See  ante  Chap.  III. 


140  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.         [Chap.  VI. 

where  I  can  see  him  or  write  to  him.     I  should  like  to  have 
an  hom-'s  talk  with  him. 

At  the  same  time  tell  me  what  that  work  on  Mental 
Philosophy  was  in  which  I  once  heard  Joseph  Pass- 
more  examining  his  class.  It  has  a  clear  statement  of  the 
distinction  between  the  "objective  and  subjective,''  which 
I  should  like  to  transfer  to  my  paper,  preparatory  to  one 
of  my  letters  on  Evangehcal  Catholicism,  for  one  view, 
and  indeed  the  leading  one  of  E.  C,  is  that  it  is  a 
recognition  equally  of  the  objective  and  the  subjective  in 
religion.  If  I  had  time  I  could  write  a  book  that  would  con- 
vince the  whole  Church  there  is  something  more  than  a  fancy 
in  Evangelical  Catholicism.  I  am  not  a  metaphysician,  and 
therefore  see  it  only  in  the  concrete.  I  can  illustrate  it  but 
not  demonstrate  it  in  the  abstract.  I  should  like  to  set  Pass- 
more's  mind  on  this  track.  It  explains  the  two  systems  that 
now  divide  the  Church,  and  harmonizes  them.  For  example, 
the  Sacraments — the  Catholic  regards  them  as  God  coming  to 
us  in  them,  and  hence  cannot  say  too  much  of  their  efficacy — 
he  considers  them  objectively.  The  Evangelical  thinks  only 
of  his  coming  to  God  in  the  Sacraments,  and  hence  is  taken 
up  with  his  own  faith  and  dispositions  in  order  to  their 
efficacy ;  he  considers  them  subjectively.  The  Roman 
Catholic,  and  the  Anglo-Catholic  too,  though  not  in  so  great 
a  degree,  is  intensely  objective  in  his  view  of  the  Sacraments. 
The  Evangelical,  or  rather  the  Ee-vangelical,  is  intensely  sub- 
jective; the  E.  C.  considers  them  both  objectively  and  sub- 
jectively, and  hence  is  right.  So  of  Faith — the  Catholic  asks 
what  he  is  to  believe,  the  Evangelical,  how  he  is  to  believe. 
One  deals  with  "Fides,  gwa/w  credimus,"  the  other  "Fides, 
qua  credimus  " — neither  must  be  lost  sight  of.  All  through 
Catholicism  is  objective,  as  you  will  see  on  trial.  Evangeli- 
calism, considered  as  relative  to  the  facts  of  the  Gospel,  is, 
of  com-se,  likewise  objective ;  but,  as  the  word  is  used,  refers 
mainly  to  the  moral  dispositions  required  in  the  Gospel.  But 
I  must  not  trespass  on  your  time  with  this — show  it  to  Pass- 
more  and  ask  him  whether  he  will  not  write  an  essay  on  the 
subject,  or  write  a  little  to  me  about  it.    Catholicism,  un- 


1854.]        LETTERS  FROM  DR.  MUELENBERO.        141 

checked,  leads  to  consolidated  churchism  and  superstition  ; 
Evangelicalism  to  individualism  and  rationalism. 

Tt  Beum  for  youx  full  school  I  Xo  doubt  you  rejoice  witli 
trembling.  The  good  Lord  give  you  grace  in  proportion  to  your 
numbers.   I'll  try  to  find  my  talk  to  young  communicants,  but 

have  not  seen  it  for  a  great  while It  is  hardly  more  than 

half  an  hour  since  I  got  your  letter,  so  you  will  not  complain  of 

my  tardiness  this  time Frank  Lawrence  is  my  assistant, 

and  an  excellent  preacher.  Have  you  heard  of  J.  McX. 
walking  back  to  the  West  with  a  wife  ?  If  you  have,  probably 
you  have  also  heard  that  he  ran  away  with  one  of  my 
"Sisters  of  Charity,"  but  which  is  not  the  fact.  Miss  G. 
icanted  to  be  a  sister  for  several  yeai*s.  Her  mother  com- 
pelled her,  with  Dr.  T^-ng's  assistance,  to  give  it  up.  For 
more  than  a  year  she  had  no  connection  with  the  sisterhood. 
She  resolved  to  do  the  next  best  thing  by  marrying  a  mission- 
ary.   But  I  MUST  stop.     As  ever  yours, 

W.  A.  M. 

Xew  York,  June  15,  1854. 

Thank  you,  my  dearest  John,  for  your  kind  note.     I  should 
not  have  written  so  long  a  talk  about  the  hymn,  but  the  folks 
here  would  give  me  no  rest.     Have  you  seen  the  last  Banner  -^j  iroyia not 
of  the  Cross  ?     Bishop  H.  U.  O.  has  a  long  letter  in  it  about  ^;^f,^^^^,^ 
the  part  he  took  in  compiling  our  Iwmns.     From  it  any  one'''"'" 
would  suppose  that  it  was  all  his  work.    His  statements  are 
true,  but  so  partial  as  to  need  a  supplement  if  the  history  of 
the  h3-mns  be  of  any  consequence.    He  says,  "  Quorum  pars 
magna  fui  ":  if  so,  then  I  beg  to  say  that  I  was  the  quorum. 

I  should  love  to  spend  a  week  with  you  :  perhaps  I  may,  after 
the  meeting  of  the  Commission  of  Bishops  on  the  Memorial, 
which  takes  place  on  the  29th,  if  only  to  tell  you  all  about  it, 
for  I  think  there  will  be  something  to  tell.  Bishop  Otey,  the 
chairman,  is  already  here— full  of  the  subject.  You  would  be 
shocked  to  hear  how  far  he  is  willing  to  go  for  the  sake  of 
union  with  our  sound  Protestant  brethren.  My  "Catholic 
Union  "  of  eighteen  years  ago  need  be  suppressed  no  longer. 


142 


LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.        [Chap.  VI. 


I  am  preparing  an  elucidation  and  defence  of  the  Memorial' 
to  be  read  before  the  Commission,  which  will  be  plain  talk, 
and  there  are  others  who  will  speak  as  plainly.  We  go  for 
emancipating  the  Episcopate  and  unsectarizing  the  Church. 
In  that  I  am  sure  you  will  bid  us  Godspeed.  My  love  to 
your  family. 

W.  A.  M. 


The  '^Memo- 
rial" etc. 


New  York,  July  15,  1854. 
My  Bear  John^ — I  have  a  bare  recollection  of  Dr.  Jarvis's 
letter,  but  none  whatever  of  what  I  did  with  it.  You  can 
easily  make  out  yourself  the  Episcopal  right  to  confer  degrees 
in  a  diocesan  school.  And  now  don't  you  want  to  hear  about 
the  Commission  on  the  Memorial  ? 


»  The  ' '  Memorial  to  the  House  of 
^isAops"  (1853)  and  a  very  interest- 
ing account  of  it  will  be  found  in 
the  16th  chapter  of  The  Life  and 
Worlc  of  Dr.  Muhlenberg.  This 
really  great  and  far-seeing  move- 
ment  did  not  receive  at  the  time 
the  attention  it  deserved,  though 
men  like  Bishop  Otey  and  Dr. 
Bowman  appreciated  the  thing 
itself,  and  Dr.  Muhlenberg's 
motives.  It  was  the  fashion  of 
the  High  Church  party  of  the  day 
to  decry  the  Memorial  as  an 
abomination,  and  Dr.Muhlenberg 
was  for  some  years  one  of  the  best 
abused  men  in  the  whole  Church. 
But  all  High  Churchmen  did  not 
talk  in  this  strain.  One  of  the 
memorialists  was  that  eminent 
High  Churchman,  Prof.  S.  R. 
Johnson,  not  less  well  known 
than  respected  and  esteemed. 
The  names  of  A.  Cleveland  Coxe, 
E.  T.  Higbee  and  Francis  Vin- 
ton will  also  be  found  there — 
though  with  some  slight  qualifi- 


cation. Dr.  Muhlenberg  speaks 
of  his  "  getting  up  the  memo- 
rial." It  is  not  written,  how- 
ever, in  his  straightforward, 
charming,  simple  style.  It  is  a 
labored  production,  and  could 
scarcely  have  come  from  his 
graceful  pen.  The  reputed  author 
was  the  Rev.  Philip  Berry  of  the 
Diocese  of  New  York,  whose 
name  stands  third  in  the  list  of 
signers.  (Journal  of  General  Con- 
vention, 1853,  p.  183.)  One  result  of 
refusing  to  act  boldly  on  Dr.  Muh- 
lenberg's suggestion  has  been 
that  the  Ritualistic  wing  of  the 
High  Church  party  have  claimed 
and  used  a  greater  liberty  in 
dealing  with  the  rubrics  of  the 
Prayer  Book  and  the  accessories 
of  Divine  Service  than  ever  Dr. 
Muhlenberg  dreamed  of  as  pos- 
sible. Dr.  Muhlenberg  wanted 
that  very  "  flexibility  "  in  the  use 
of  the  Prayer  Book  which  all  par- 
ties at  present  seem  disposed  to 
desire,  if  not  to  concede. 


1854.]       LETTERS  FROM  DR.  MUHLENBERG.         143 

All  the  Bishops  were  present,  they  sat  four  days,  and  a 
very  interesting  time  they  had  of  it,  as  they  have  said  them- 
selves. Several  of  the  memorialists  read  papers  before  them  ; 
of  course  I  had  something  to  say.  My  talk  lasted  nearl}'  two 
hom-s,  and  never  had  I  a  more  attentive  audience.  As  Bishop 
Doane  had  come  out  in  his  Charge  against  the  Memorial  (as 
probably  you  have  seen),  I  had  an  opportunity  of  answering 
his  objections,  which  I  did  with  some  eft'ect,  as  he  very 
graciously  acknowledged  to  me  himself.  He  feels,  I  am  sure, 
that  his  Charge  was  premature.  As  they  sat  on  the  4th  of 
July  (all  except  Bishop  D.)  I  went  in  again  and  made  a  short 
speech  suited  to  the  day,  on  Episcopal  freedom.  I  told  them  Emancipation 
that  the  central  idea  of  this  movement  is  the  emancipation  of  ^^/''/  Episco- 
the  Protestant  Episcopate  from  the  bondage  of  sect ;  that 
there  are  times  when  men  must  throw  themselves  boldl}^  on 
first  principles,  and  that  such  a  time  had  now  come  for  the 
Bishops  of  our  Church,  that  they  must  fall  back  on  the  magna 
charta,  the  original  commission.  Go  ye  into  all  the  world,  etc. 

Of  course  they  will  act  deliberately  :  they  have  made  a 
beginning  by  propounding  a  series  of  questions  to  be  sent  to 
the  principal  clergy,  and  will  meet  again  in  October,  again  in 
February.  So  you  see  they  are  in  earnest.  I  hope  for  great 
results. 

The  most  important  thing  I  ever  did  in  my  life  was  the 
getting  up  of  that  Memorial,  as  results  will  prove.  "  Catholic 
Union"  and  the  pamphlet  in  its  defence  that  lay  so  long 
among  the  rubbish  at  College  Point,  was  waste  paper  no 
longer.  Each  of  the  Bishops  asked  for  a  copy,  as  I  had 
referred  to  it  in  my  talk.  They  have  opened  a  communication 
with  the  Committee  of  Convocation  in  England  on  partly  the 
same  subject.  Don't  repeat  what  I  have  said  of  myself  at 
the  Commission.  I  thought  you  would  like  to  hear  of  your 
old  school-father's  doings.  I  have  a  great  deal  to  tell  you, 
and  were  I  not  kept  here  by  the  dilatory  building  committee 
of  the  hospital,  I  would  come  down   and  see  you.    Yours 

W.  A.  M. 


144  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.         [Chap.  VI. 

Nov.  18,  1854. 

My  Dear  John, —  ....  I  am  writing  the  preface  to  my 
His  '•■Pvseyite  Exposition  of  the  Memorial,  and  in  it  I  have  occasion  to  say 
aberration."    ^^  follows.    I  want  you  to  tell  me  whether  it  strikes  you  as 
in  accordance  with  facts  : 

"  In  1836  he  printed  a  little  book  on  Catholic  union,  and,  as 
it  met  with  rough  handUng  in  some  quarters,  soon  after  a 
pamphlet  in  defence  of  it.  In  both  these  publications  he 
advanced  the  views  here  maintained  of  our  Episcopate  as  a 
means  of  union  among  orthodox  Protestants  and  of  the  duty 
of  our  Church  in  that  regard.  His  mind  underwent  no 
change  on  the  subject  until  a  subsequent  period  of  some  three 
years,  during  which  he  sympathized  with  certain  theological 
writers  of  the  English  Church,  particularly  with  one  of  them, 
whose  system,  practicably  developed,  finds  the  unity  of  the 
Church  only  in  communion  with  the  See  of  Rome.  Returning 
(now  nine  years  ago)  to  the  Protestant  ground,  which  he  now 
saw  to  be  Gospel  ground  more  clearly  than  ever  before,  and 
from  which  he  had  been  partially  drawn  by  the  attraction  of 
minds  that  beguiled  stronger  men  than  himself,  he  returned 
to  his  former  estimate  of  the  office  of  our  Bishops  in  its 
Catholic  extent,  and  its  consequent  availableness  for  the  end 
of  unity  and  concord  beyond  our  own  Communion." 

Have  I  stated  fairly  my  Puseyite  aberration  ?  I  care  more 
for  your  recollections  than  any  one's  else.  As  I  am  putting 
the  manuscript  in  the  printer's  hands,  I  should  like  a  line  in 
reply  at  once.    Yours  very  sincerely, 

W.  A.  Muhlenberg. 

New  York,  June  13,  1855. 

My  Dear  John, — Please  say  prayers  in  your  chapel  for  your 
school-father,  who  sails  on  the  20th  from  Boston  in  the 
Africa,  for  a  visit  to  England  and  a  short  trip  to  the  Conti- 
nent to  see  the  hospitals,  etc.,  and  to  converse  with  wise  and 
good  men  in  the  hope  of  gaining  something  of  their  goodness 
and  wisdom. 

I  saw  Clarkson  oft"  on  Saturday.     He  and  I  hope  to  meet 


1855.]       LETTERS  FROM  DR.  MUHLENBERG. 


145 


iu  London  and  to  travel  together  up  the  Rhine,  in  Switzer- 
land, etc.,  and  to  come  home  together  in  October. 
Can  I  do  anything  for  you  abroad  ? 

Have  you  seen  Dr.  Bowman's  sermon  ?     He  went  for  the  Di'-  Bowman 
■«i-  -1  1  -.-i-i  -■•  -11^  ■      approves  the 

Memorial  out  and  out.'     I  had  a  good  time  with  the  Commis-  "■Me-manal." 

sion  in  Philadelphia.     They'll  make  a  more  favorable  report 

than  you  would  gather  from  the  notices  of  their  doings  in  the 

newspapers.  If  it  pleases  God,  I  shall  return,  and  I'll  devote 

myself  to  the  movement  more  earnestly  than  ever.    I  believe 

I  have  something  yet  to  do  for  the  Church.    Did  not  you 

like  Washburn's  pamphlet,  "  The  Catholic  Movement  of  the 

P.  E.  Church."     It  is  the  ablest  thing  on  the  Memorial  that 

has  yet  appeared.   Dr.  McVickar  spoke  to  me  iu  the  strongest 

terms  of  it,  and  said  he  assented  to  every  word  of  it.     Dr. 

Vinton  leaves  Brooklyn  for  Trinity  here.     Hoping  you  are 

all  well,  good-bye. 

W.  A.  M. 

Won't  you  preach  for  me  sometimes  this  summer  ?  Would 
it  be  impossible  for  you  to  run  over  in  August  ?  We  could 
have  a  nice  time  in  England. 

New  York,  Nov.  7,  1855. 
Thank  you,  my  dear  John,  for  your  kind  note,  which  I 
ought  to  have  said  sooner.  I  rejoice  to  hear  of  your  pros- 
pects for  the  year.  How  I  should  like  to  talk  with  you  about 
some  of  the  great  schools  I  saw  in  England,  the  new  ones  I 
mean,  particularly  the  Bishop  of  Oxford's  at  Radley ;  not  to  Haciky  Sclwol. 
give  you  any  new  ideas,  for  you  as  Rector  of  St.  James's 
could  tell  Mr.  Sewell,  the  warden  of  St.  Peter's,  Radley,  a 


'  Dr.  Bowman  was  a  man  of 
great  wisdom  as  well  as  zeal. 
The  tone  of  his  mind  was  emi- 
nently conservative ;  yet  his  High 
Churchmanship  saw  nothing  dan- 
gerous in  Dr.  Muhlenberg's  Me- 
morial. In  a  letter  or  paper 
which  Dr.  Bowman  published  on 
the  subject  he  used  this  language, 


well  worth  recalling  just  at  this 
time:  "I  have  never  considered 
myself  at  all  bound  by  the  Prayer 
Book  when  I  have  found  myself 
in  a  position  for  which  evidently 
the  Prayer  Book  has  not  pro- 
vided. In  all  such  emergencies  I 
feel  myself  as  free  as  a  Methodist 
or  a  Presbyterian." 


146  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KEBFOOT.        [Chap.  VI. 

thing  or  two.  I  was  amused  at  their  showing  me  features  in 
their  S3'^stem  at  the  last-named  school,  on  which  they  piided 
themselves  as  peculiar  to  them ;  the  dormitory,  for  example, 
with  which  we  were  familiar  years  ago.  I  must  contrive  to 
let  you  see  Sewell's  sermons  to  his  boys,  in  which  there  are 
some  good  things,  but  from  which  you  will  learn  what  an 
unreal,  artificial,  overstrained  thing  their  system  is — a  perfect 
application,  and  the  only  one  in  the  world  they  say,  of  the 
sacramental  system  to  education.  The  eyes  of  the  Church 
are  upon  it,  and  in  a  few  years  if  it  does  not  prove  an  entire 
failure,  1  am  greatly  mistaken,  and  so  are  some  very  sound 
churchmen  with  whom  I  conversed  on  the  subject. 
Ordination  by  I  saw  Trench,  Maurice  (a  lovely  fellow),  the  Bishop  of  Oxford, 
Oafm-d.  a,n  extraordinary  man.  I  was  at  an  ordination  of  the  latter's, 
the  most  impressive  one  I  ever  witnessed ;  eighteen  were 
ordained.  At  the  imposition  of  hands,  each  one  of  the  candi- 
dates came  up  in  turn  and  bowed  down  before  the  Bishop 
sitting  in  his  chair  in  front  of  the  altar.  It  was  very  solemn 
and  beautiful.  In  consecrating  the  elements  the  Bishop 
stood  at  the  north  end  of  the  table,  sideways  towards  the 
people,  and  I  observed  that  in  distributing  what  remained  of 
the  elements  he  gave  them  to  the  persons  standing.  I  spoke 
to  him  afterwards  about  it.  He  said  he  made  a  point  of  doing 
so,  and  would  not  give  the  bread  or  cup  to  any  one  on  his 
knees,  that  he  had  sometimes  passed  by  those  who  wished  to 
take  them  in  that  attitude.  He  feared,  he  said,  to  countenance 
any  notion  akin  to  transubstantiation ;  not  so,  however,  with 
some  of  the  Puseyites  in  his  diocese,  who  seemed  to  endeavor 
to  make  the  Eucharist  as  like  the  Roman  mass  as  possible. 
The  perversions  to  Rome  are  not  yet  done  in  the  Church  of 
England.  Manning  is  active  in  making  proselytes  among  the 
laity,  and  so  are  the  Brothers  of  the  Oratory  in  Birmingham. 
I  saw  one  of  them,  the  brother  of  Caswall,  who  has  con- 
tributed all  his  property  to  the  Oratory.  The  people  see  that 
they  are  in  earnest,  which  of  course  will  have  its  efi'ect. 
Rely  upon  it,  Justification  by  Faith  is  the  dividing  doctrine 
between  us  and  Rome.  I  could  not  help  calling  upon  good 
Dr.  Pusey.     He    asked  so   many    questions    about    things 


1856.]       LETTERS  FROM  DR.  MUHLENBERG.         147 

among  us  that  I  could  not  get  much  out  of  him  of  his  own  Dr.  Fusey. 
views  of  things  there.  One  remark  he  did  make,  and  that  was 
that  he  feared  the  weekly  Eucharist  had  been  introduced  in 
places  in  England  where  the  people  were  not  prepared  for  it. 
But  I  can't  tell  you  a  tithe  of  what  I  should  like  to  say  to 
you.  How  much  should  I  enjoy  your  company  while  we 
chatted  together  over  my  stories.  Your  note  which  I  got  in 
London  was  very  gratifying.  My  love  to  your  family.  Ever 
yours, 

W.  A.  M. 

New  York,  Jan.  26,  1856. 

My  Dear  John., — I  am  too  delighted  that  you  think  so  well  The  '■■Mtmo' 
of  my  pamphlet.  Your  note  coming  after  the  pleasure  Qf ''<''■" '^onti'med. 
last  evening,  has  been  almost  too  much  for  me.  Thank  you 
for  it  a  thousand  times  ;  because  my  vanity  is  gratified — per- 
haps so ;  but  there  is  something  more.  The  approbation  of 
men  like  you  augurs  the  success  of  the  cause,  the  cause,  I 
believe,  of  the  Gospel.  In  nothing  I  have  ever  done  have  I 
been  so  able  to  look  up  to  my  Blessed  Lord  and  appeal  to 
Him,  against  so  much  misrepresentation,  that  I  am  actuated 
by  a  concern  for  the  glory  of  His  Name.  You  difter  from  me 
only  in  one  point.  I  would  have  no  uncertainty  about  the 
Holy  Trinity  in  public  worship,  and  I  regret  that  there  is  Bcay 
appearance  of  it  in  what  I  have  written.  I  should  prefer, 
however,  to  have  the  doctrine  expressed  in  the  language  of 
Scripture,  not,  however,  to  the  disparagement  of  the  Creeds. 
We  difler  only  as  to  whether  our  Bishops  are  in  bondage. 
You  would  require  the  action  of  the  General  Convention.  I 
think  the  Bishops  are  competent  to  act  themselves.  So  you 
see  I  am  the  higher  churchman  !  We  had  about  fifty  of  the 
old  scholars,  some  from  Philadelphia,  and  a  right  pleasant 
time.  We  went  into  the  chapel  for  a  voluntary  meeting,  and 
the  boys  all  came.  It  was  proposed  we  should  have  a  grand 
reunion  at  the  Point  next  summer,  when  I  hope  you  will  be 

able  to  come I  invited  Houghton  in  last  evening,  and 

he  came 


148  Li:^E  OP  BISHOP  KERPOOT.        [Chap.  VI. 

New  York,  Jan.  26,  1857. 
Burning  of  My  Dear  John, — I  see  by  the  papers  what  a  sad  calamity 
Kemp  HaU.  j^g^g  befallen  you.  We  have  learned  no  particulars,  only  that 
you  were  spared  the  loss  of  life.  What  confusion  you  must 
be  thrown  into.  How  do  you  manage  with  so  much  less 
room  than  you  are  accustomed  to.  Was  the  building  insured  ? 
I  suppose  the  walls  are  standing,  so  that  you  can  be  repaired 
with,  I  hope,  your  insurance.  In  what  diflerent  ways  you  are 
tried  !— and  how  unexpectedly  !  Encouraged  that  the  institu- 
tion suffered  nothing  from  the  affliction  that  ended  your  last 
session,  and  having  the  fairest  prospects  for  the  present, 
suddenly  the  devouring  flames  make  havoc  in  your  midst. 
You  know  how  to  look  at  such  things,  and  to  practise  the 
lesson  of  faith  which  you  teach  your  pupils. 

We  have  new  exercises  in  the  life-long  school,  which  we 
should  often  think  very  hard  if  we  did  not  know  that  the 
Master  is  our  Father.  I  have  thought  much  of  you,  and  hope 
to  hear  that  the  disaster  will  not  be  attended  with  disad- 
vantage. I'll  call  and  see  Mrs.  Anderson  to  learn  more 
about  it.  With  us  all  things  go  on  as  usual,  and  so  I  trust 
they  will  be  as  far  as  possible  with  you  before  long.  With 
my  affectionate  remembrance  for  your  family,  and  for  Pass- 
more  and  his,  I  am  yours  alwa3^s, 

W.  A.  Muhlenberg. 
Rev.  Dr.  Kerfoot. 

St.  Luke's  Hospital,  N.  Y.,  Jan.  7,  1860. 
New  Year's  My  Dear  John, — I  thought  of  you  too  at  midnight  '59  and 
'60,  and  was  sure  you  remembered  me,  and  now  your  loving 
letter  is  the  best  New  Year's  greeting  I  have  had — a  pure 
gift  from  heart  to  heart.  What  you  say,  in  no  flattering 
words  I  am  sure,  does  me  good;  stu's  new  emotions  of  thank- 
fulness for  the  Grace  whereby  I  am  what  I  am,  and  have  done 
what  I  have  done  as  an  instrument  of  some  good  in  my  day 
and  generation.  God  knows  with  what  penitence  I  habitu- 
ally look  back  on  the  past.  I  feel  as  if  I  want  only  to  forget 
it.  Then  to  know  that  I  am  loved  by  those  who  love  God, 
for  what  they  knew  of  me  in  the  past  is  reviving,  and  assures 


1861.]       LETTERS  FROM  DR.  MUHLENBERG.         149 

me  anew  that  there  is  something  in  me  besides  my  sinful  and 
miserable  self.  But  I  must  not  go  on  in  this  way ;  but  I  do 
prize  such  letters  from  you  as  signs  of  my  election  in  Christ. 
God  bless  the  little  one'  that  comes  a  new  light  in  your 
house:  may  it  shine  more  and  more  unto  the  perfect  day.  I 
joy  in  your  happiness  in  your  children ;  and  with  what 
gratitude  for  what  comes  so  direct  from  God  do  you  begin  the 
year,  and  with  so  many  children  of  Grace  among  your  pupils? 
I  should  be  delighted  to  be  among  them,  and  to  christen 
little  Helen,  but  I  dare  not  say  I  will.  It  is  now  more  diflS- 
cult  than  ever  to  leave  home,  I  never  had  so  confining  a 
charge.  I  heard  nothing  of  the  laying  of  your  corner-stone 
until  it  was  all  over.  If  you  sent  me  an  invitation  it  never 
reached  me,  of  which  I  am  not  sorry,  as  it  spared  me  the 
pain  of  refusal.  With  my  love  to  your  wife,  Abel  and  Annie, 
ever  aflFectionately, 

W.  A.  M. 

St.  Luke's  Hospital,  Jan.  8,  1861. 

Thank  you,  my  dear  John,  and  I  thought  of  you  at  mid-  ^ew  Year's  Eve. 
■'•'•'  '  ,.  Prospects  oj 

night  '60  and  '61,  and  of  no  one  more,  for  I  was  sure  you  dimmion. 
were  praying  for  me.  I  had  some  boys  with  me,  among 
them  three  interesting  young  converts  from  the  accident 
ward,  whom  I  told  of  our  old  college  custom — sure  you  were 
keeping  it  up.  God  give  you  and  yours  a  happy  year.  It 
opens  indeed  with  clouds  and  darkness  in  the  firmament  of 
the  land,  but  the  Lord  reigneth,  be  the  people  never  so 
impatient.  He  sitteth  between  the  cherubim  be  the  earth 
never  so  unquiet.  He  stilleth  the  noise  of  the  waves  and 
the  madness  of  the  people.  There  are  mad  people  on  both 
sides,  but  it  is  not  any  Northern  madness  which  now  makes 
the  trouble,  but  the  deliberate  and  determined  sentiment  of 
the  North  in  regard  to  slavery,  which  the  South  will  not 
endure.  That  cannot  be  changed.  In  any  rupture  of  the 
Union,  Maryland  will  sooner  or  later  be  found  with  the  free 
States.     St.  James's  may  suffer  for  awhile,  but  will  be  found 

'  [Dr.  Kerfoot's  daughter  Helen.] 


150  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.         [Chap.  VI, 

in  a  good  position  ultimately.  With  my  love  for  Mrs.  K. 
and  your  children,  yours  always, 

W.  A.  MUHLENBEBG. 

St.  Luke's  Hospital,  N.  Y.,  July  27,  1861. 
"This  horrid ,     ^V  J^^ar  JoJin^ — Probably  by  the  time  this  reaches  you,  you 
hmridwar."'  ^ju  have  found  your  request  for  books,  tracts,  etc.,  complied 

with As  soon  as  they  can  get  it  ready  the  sisters 

here  will  send  a  box  for  the  hospital.  We  have  been  caring 
in  the  same  way  for  soldiers  at  Fortress  Monroe,  where  I 
have  three  boys  to  whom  I  had  become  much  attached,  in 
Duryea's  Zouaves.  They  write  to  me  very  good  letters, 
lamenting  the  demoralizing  eflect  of  camp  life,  and  a  comfort 
they  have  in  a  prayer-meeting  among  themselves. 

This  horrid,  horrid  war  !  when  and  how  will  it  end? — not 
I  fear  with  leaving  you  in  the  Union,  as  I  once  believed.  I 
don't  say  this  because  of  our  recent  repulse  [Bull  Run] — that! 
expected ;  nor  from  doubting  the  righteousness  of  our  side, 
but  from  the  irreconcilable  enmity  which  must  henceforth 
exist  between  the  North  and  the  South.  I  rejoice  with  you 
in  your  happiness  in  Abel.    My  love  for  Mrs.  Kerfoot.    In 

haste  yours, 

W.  A.  M. 
You  write  worse  and  worse. 

St.  Luke's  Hospital,  N.  Y.,  Aug.  18,  1863. 
Invites  Dr.  Ker-  My  Dear  John, — Fearful  times  indeed  you  have  passed 
■d^'o/ll.Sf',<!.  through,  and  that  you  have  passed  through  them,  you  and 
yours,  unhurt,  God's  name  be  praised.  Sickness  withal,  and 
from  that  you  are  recovering,  quite,  I  trust.  Assure  your  dear 
wife  of  my  sympathy,  and  Dr.  Cruse's  too,  for  yourself  and 
family.  He  listened  a  moment  ago  to  your  painfully  inter- 
esting letter.  Sister  Anne  also  joins  in  the  kindest  remem- 
brances. Strange  that  a  moment  before  your  letter  was  put 
into  my  hands  she  had  been  saying  that  "  of  all  men  she 
would  like  Dr.  Kerfoot  to  take  my  place." 

I  have  been  advertising  for  a  warden  of  the  hospital,  to  be 
first  my  associate  and  then  my  successor.    I  had  just  seen 


1865.]      LETTERS  FROM  DR.  MUHLENBERG.  151 

the  most  promising  of  the  applicants,  and  was  talking  him 
over  with  Sister  Anne  when  she  made  the  remark  I  have 
quoted,  and  almost  immediately  after,  while  you  were  in  my 
thoughts,  the  postman  brought  your  letter ;  and  now  wliy 
won't  you  be  my  associate  and  successor?  No  one  else  can 
do  for  St.  Luke's  Hospital  what  you  can  :  could  so  enter  into 
its  spirit.  It  must  be  some  man  who  knows  me,  and  who 
does  that  better  than  yourself?  Bishop  Whittingham  took 
you  from  me  21  years  ago  (you  say) ;  I  now  reclaim  you  : 
next  to  your  college,  what  better  work  for  you  than  a  Chris- 
tian hospital?  Let  this  question  come  into  yom-  present 
debatings.  Listen  to  a  call  from  your  old  father .  Come  and 
relieve  me  at  least  for  a  few  months  or  a  year,  when,  if  you 
should  not  like  the  work,  you  could  take  a  parish,  or  another 
college.  Let  me  know  what  you  think,  as  I  must  choose  some- 
body soon  as  warden  of  St.  Luke's.    Ever  yovxrs, 

W.  A.  M. 

P.  S. — Dear  Mrs.  Kerfoot^ — You  would  have  a  comfortable 
home  at  St.  Luke's,  where  you  also  could  do  so  much  good  in 
an  easy  way.  Abel  then  could  live  with  you,  and  that  would 
be  far  better  for  him  than  at  the  seminary.  Don't  let  John 
say  no,  unless  his  conscience  compels  him.  He  went  to 
Maryland  at  the  bidding  of  his  church  father,  and  now  his  old 
and  first  church  father  calls  him  here,  to  take  the  care  from 
his  shoulders,  which  no  one  can  like  his  dearly  beloved  son. 

The  Lord  be  with  us  and  direct  us  in  all  things. 

I  think  of  writing  to  Bishop  Whittingham  to  release  John, 
and  to  be  as  generous  to  me  as  I  was  to  him. 

W.  A.  M. 

St.  Luke's  Hospital,  N.  Y.,  July  21,  1865. 
My  Dear  Jolin., — By  the  Christian  Times,  which  I  send  you 
with  this,  you  will  find  the  answer  to  your  last.  It  dictated 
the  form  in  which  I  did  reply  to  the  Bishop.'  I  mean  to 
address  you  in  three  or  four  more  numbers  of  the  paper.  I 
can't  say  in  public  how  much  I  thank  you  for  the  kind  in- 
terest in  me  which  your  letter  shows. 

1  [The  Bishop  of  New  York.] 


152  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.       [Chap.  VI. 

Bishop  Coxe  seconded  you  very  earnestly,  but  it  would 
never  do  for  me  to  say  nothing.  I  saw  the  account  of  j^our 
inauguration,  and  saw  one  who  was  present.  It  must  have 
been  a  happy  day  for  you.  With  my  love  to  your  family, 
aflfectionately  yours, 

W.  A.  M. 

St.  Luke's  Hospital,  N.  Y.,  Jan.  17, 1870. 
ie«  ^*"' ''     ^y  Dear  John^ — Better  late  than  never  to  thank  you  for 
your  kind  remembrances  at  the  expiring  hour  of  '69.     I  knew 
I  had  a  share  in  your  thoughts,  as  you  had  in  mine,  in  our 
midnight  service  in  the  chapel. 

Your  letter  gave  me  much  pleasure,  not  only  as  a  token  of 
your  continued  love,  but  as  well  for  its  good  news  of  the 
health  of  Abel,  Mrs.  K.  and  yourself,  and  of  your  happiness 
and  prosperity  in  your  work.  I  heartily  join  in  your  New 
Year's  Te  Deum,  and  pray  that  you  may  have  fresh  cause  for 
it  on  many  a  New  Year's  to  come.  I'm  so  glad  to  learn 
what  you  tell  me  of  Abel ;  remember  me  affectionately  to 
him  and  his  mother.  You  don't  sa}'  anything  of  your 
daughter.  Is  she  not  at  home  with  you  ? 
St.  Joknianch  you  read  about  St.  Johnland ;  and  you'll  read  more. 
Please  God,  in  the  same  number  of  Brotherly  Words,  before 
the  year's  out,  you  will  have  an  account  of  the  dedica- 
tion of  St.  Johnland — one  place  in  which  our  Church  will  not 
be  a  sect.  You  pray  against  my  church  views — not  very  hard, 
I  guess,  for  you  have  so  many  badder  things  to  pray  against, 
that  by  the  time  you  get  to  mine,  your  prayer-breath  will  be 
nearly  spent ! 

I'll  send  you  my  talk  at  the  Evangelical  Conference  in 
Philadelphia,  in  which  you  will  see  what  a  good  Catholic  I 
am.  Won't  you  put  in  for  the  prize  of  $500  for  the  best  tract 
on  the  MTiscripturalness  of  the  doctrine  of  Apostolic  succes- 
sion, as  held  by  a  party  in  the  Episcopal  Church  ?  Good-bye. 
Afl'ectionately,  W.  A.  M. 

St.  Luke's  Hospital,  N.  Y.,  Jan.  9,  187L 
Mw  Year's     My   Dear   School   Son   and    Church   Father, — I   have    this 
moment  got  your  letter,  and  think  it  better  to  acknowledge 


1874.]       LETTERS  FROM  DR.  MUHLENBERG.        153 

it  in  a  brief  line  at  once,  than  put  it  off  for  a  longer?  I 
thought  of  you  at  12  on  New-Year's  Eve  :  had  you  distinctly 
before  my  mind  in  prayer  as  one  of  those  who  I  was  most 
certain  was  remembering  me.  May  we  so  pray  for  one 
another  that  we  shall  have  the  answer  to  our  prayer  in  ever- 
lasting praise.  God  give  you  and  yours  a  happy  year,  and 
success  in  your  work  to  the  glory  of  His  name  !  Lovingly, 
though  in  baste,  ever  yours, 

W.  A.  Muhlenberg. 
Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  Kebfoot. 

P.  S. — Have  had  a  most  affectionate  letter  from  Bedell. 

St.  Luke's  Hospital,  N.  Y.,  Jan.  6,  1873. 
My  Dear  Bishop, — This  time  I  purposed  to  be  even  with  Neiv  Tear- 
you,  in  sending  you  a  line  on  the  birth  of  the  year,  but  raj  ^''*''" 
boys,  who,  together  with  others,  kept  the  watch-night  here, 
tarried  with  me  until  I  felt  like  going  to  bed;  so,  again,  mine 
is  only  an  acknowledgment  of  your  loving  remembrance, 
which  I  thank  you  for  with  all  my  heart  and  equally  recipro- 
cate. I  rejoice  to  know  that  the  year  has  dawned  on  3^ou  so 
happily,  and  pray  that  it  may  fulfill  its  promises  of  blessings 
on  yourself  and  family,  as  well  as  on  your  work.  That  work, 
too,  which  you  truly  say  is  needful  beyond  your  official  duties 
to  keep  your  soul  in  health.  I  am  unusually  well  and  never 
had  more  to  do,  and  not  laboring  in  vain,  so  far  as  present 
success  goes.  Among  other  things,  I  am  about  to  resume  the 
Evangelical  Catholic,  having  found  an  editor  that  will  enable 
me  to  do  it  for  the  benefit  of  Bishops,  as  well  as  priests,  dea- 
cons and  laity.  Perhaps  you  were  in  Philadelphia  at  the 
consecration  of  that  good  man.  Hare.  I  should  like  to  go 
and  see  you  and  your  home.  My  blessing  upon  your  "  impo- 
sition of  hands.''  Ever  yours, 

W.  A.  M. 

St.  Luke's  Hospital,  :N'.  Y.,  June  24,  1874. 
My  Dear  John, — I  am  sorry  I  shall  not  be  able  to  see  you.  Farewell. 
I  expect  to  go  to-morrow  morning  to  Seabright,  on  the  ocean 


164  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.        [Chap.  VI. 

side  of  New  Jersey,  where  they  promise  me  great  things 
from  the  sea  breeze.  You  will  be  glad  to  know  that  I  am 
much  better,  and  I  hope  that  we  shall  yet  see  one  another, 
please  God,  in  the  flesh.  In  the  meanwhile  I  pray  that  you 
may  have  a  prosperous  voyage  and  sojoui-n  abroad,  and  return 
with  renewed  health  and  strength. 

I  am  sorr}'^  that  Abel  is  not  well.    The  Lord  be  with  you 
and  yours.     Affectionately, 

W.  A.  Muhlenberg. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Part  2.    Correspondence  with  Bishop  Whittingham. 

Out  of  the  enormous  mass  of  letters  to  and  from 
Bishop  Whittingham  (carefully  preserved  by  each  of 
the  correspondents)  only  a  small  proportion  are 
available  for  the  purposes  of  this  memoir.  Many  are 
taken  up  with  business  details ;  others  refer  freely  to 
persons  and  to  public  affairs,  ecclesiastical  and  political, 
in  such  a  way  as  to  make  their  publication  at  present 
not  advisable.  Most  of  those  that  can  be  printed  will 
appear  hereafter  under  the  years  to  which  they  belong, 
leaving  very  few  to  be  inserted  in  this  chapter,  which 
is  meant  to  give  a  sort  of  general  view  of  Kerfoot's 
friendship  and  peculiarly  filial  relations  to  these  two 
remarkable  men. 

This  correspondence  extended  over  a  period  of 
nearly  forty  years,  from  1841  to  1879,  During  the 
twenty-two  years  of  the  life  of  St.  James's  College, 
hardly  a  fortnight  elapsed  without  letters  passing 
between  the  two  friends.  The  College,  as  Bishop 
Whittingham  himself  said,  came^r^^  among  the  many 
interests  in  his  diocese.  The  Bishop  liked  well  to 
hear,  and  the  Rector  found  pleasure  in  communicating 
all  that  was  going  on,  even,  sometimes,  minute 
matters  of  internal  discipline,  or  economy,  and 
especially  whatever  concerned  the  moral  and  religious 
condition  of  the  community.  It  would  be  impossible 
for  two  families,  not  related   by  blood,  to  be  more 


156  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.         [Chap.  VI. 

intimate,  or  more  dear  to  each  other,  than  were  those 
of  the  Bishop  of  Maryland  and  of  the  Rector  of  St. 
James's.  The  CoUes^e  was  a  new  experiment,  much 
talked  about  and  opposed  by  the  ecclesiastical  faction 
which  in  those  early  days  disliked  everything  that  their 
Bishop  specially  approved ;  and  every  sign  of  progress 
and  prosperity  was  received  with  eager  delight  by 
Bishop  Whittingham  and  his  friends  in  Baltimore. 

Having  gone  carefully  through  all  their  letters,  the 
impression  left  upon  the  reader's  mind  is,  that  as  a 
picture  of  a  beautiful  friendship  between  two  strong 
men,  of  fine  natures,  of  no  common  intellectual  and 
spiritual  powers,  the  correspondence  is  almost 
unrivalled.  Some  of  the  most  interesting  letters  are 
necessarily,  for  reasons  above  mentioned,  withheld 
from  publication.  But  even  in  those  which  appear 
in  the  course  of  this  volume  we  can  plainly  see  the 
characters  of  the  two  men.  Each  was  inspired  from 
early  manhood  with  the  idea  that  the  Church  of  Christ 
and  the  education  of  the  young  were  causes  worth 
toiling  for,  and  that  they  had  a  holy  commission  to 
fulfil.  They  had  high  aims,  and  however  misunder- 
stood at  times  by  their  fellow-men,  their  hearts  never 
failed  them  ;  they  pressed  onward  and  upward  without 
flagging  in  their  zeal  and  enthusiasm. 

Sometimes  in  discussing  college  aifairs,  and  in 
clearly  drawing  the  line  between  Bishop  Whitting- 
ham's  powers  as  Bishop  of  the  diocese  and  "  Visitor," 
and  those  of  the  Rector  and  Faculty,  there  would 
arise,  for  a  time,  a  decided  difierence  of  opinion,  which 
would  lead  to  warm  and  animated  argument  on  both 
sides.  But  such  differences  were  speedily  settled,  and 
so  far  from  interfering  with  the  love  and  esteem  which 


1848.]  BISSOP  WHITTINGHAM.  157 

the  Bishop  and  Rector  had  for  each  other,  the  frank 
and  bold  interchange  of  sentiment  between  such  men 
as  they  were,  seemed  rather  to  increase  their  attach- 
ment and  regard. 

For  example,  in  March,  1848,  Bishop  Whittingham 
was  much  annoyed  at  some  changes  in  the  internal 
arrangements  of  the  school  regarding  the  matronship 
and  various  other  matters  which  the  rector  proposed. 
The  Bishop  was  not  very  well  at  the  time,  and  under 
some  feeling  of  irritation,  he  wrote  a  letter  which  was 
more  full  of  complaint  and  sharper  in  expression  than 
perhaps  he  realized.  At  all  events  it  struck  Kerfoot 
as  unjust  in  itself  and  as  encroaching  upon  ground 
which  properly  belonged  to  his  domain  as  rector.  He 
wrote  a  very  strong  expostulation,  beginning  with 
these  sentences,  which  are  all  that  need  be  quoted : 
^^  My  Dear  Bishop, — I  received  your  letter  of  the  22d 
on  Friday  last,  and  read  it  then,  and  have  now  done 
so  again  with,  I  hope,  every  right  desire  :  but  yet  with 
a  feeling  of  wide  dissent,  and  one,  too,  of  pain,  which 
I  cannot  think  that  I  either  needed  or  deserved.  I  have 
resolved  (and  not  in  or  of  myself)  to  reply  as  becomes 
me,  to  my  friend,  Bishop  and  Father  in  Christ,  and 
yet  as  becomes  a  Presbyter  and  the  Rector  of  this 
College.  I  know  how  earnestly  you  write  and  talk, 
yet  with  all  allowance,  the  letter  unmistakably  sounds 
quite  unlike  any  other  before  received  from  you,  save 
one  about  expenditures  in  July,  1843.  I  beg  you  to 
believe  me  aifectionate  as  well  as  respectful  in  all  I 
say.     I  will  follow  your  own  order."  .... 

The  Bishop's  reply  begins  as  follows :  "  Baltimore, 
March  31,  1848.     My  Bear  Kerfoot,— li  is  well  that 


158  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.        [Chap.  VI. 

we  so  thoroughly  understand  and  love  each  other  ;  or, 
out  of  our  last  two  letters,  yours  and  mine,  we  have 
the  materials  to  make  'a  very  pretty  quarrel ' — con- 
siderable difference  of  opinion,  a  very  wide  distance 
in  the  points  from  which  we  look  at  questions  that 
necessarily  have  very  various  aspects  to  observers  so 
situated,  and  on  both  our  parts,  strong  ways  of 
expressing  ourselves^  and  perhaps  over-hasty  readiness 
in  apprehending  or  m^«apprehending  the  meaning  of 
oihersP  Then  the  bishop  is  interrupted  and  breaks 
off;  six  days  later  he  resumes  his  pen:  "April  6. 
But  we  do  understand — and  love  and  trust  each  other 
— a  proof  of  it,  on  my  part,  is  plainly  enough  given  in 
leaving  such  a  letter  as  your  last  so  long  unanswered. 
I  am  sure  of  you^  and  sure  that  you  are  sure  of  me ; 
therefore  I  could  be  quite  easy  even  though  I  should 
never  have  an  opportunity  of  going  over  the  ground 
of  difference  between  us  in  company  with  you."  .  .  . 
The  letter  is  a  beautiful  one,  but,  like  that  to  which  it 
is  a  reply,  it  speaks  of  persons  and  touches  upon  sub- 
jects which  make  it  unsuitable  for  publication.  It 
was  perfectly  satisfactory.  Kerfoot's  answer  begins 
thus:  "April  11,  1848.  My  Dear  Bishop,— Yomv 
very  kind  letter  reached  me  on  Sunday  evening,  and 
I  should  have  written  at  once,  but  yesterday  was 
given  to  business  in  town.  1  must  thank  you  most 
heartily  and  affectionately  for  your  tone,  and  can  only 
say  that  I  can  adopt  all  the  feelings  and  opinions  of 
your  letter.  Its  receipt  made  me  do,  with  a  deeper 
feeling  than  ever,  what  I  often  do — bless  God  for 
having  given  me  my  work  under  one  whose  guidance 
and  control  are  so  trulv  what  I  need  and  love.     As  to 


1862.]  BISHOP   WHITTINGEAM.  159 

joiir  freely  telling  me  all  jour  thoughts,  I  do,  as  I 
ought,  most  heartily  desire  it ;  and  this  none  the  less, 
should  I  think  it  a  duty  sometimes  to  trj  to  alter  the 
opinions  jou  express."  .... 

No  other  serious  disagreement,  like  this  one,  seems 
to  haye  occurred  in  all  the  rest  of  their  yoluminous 
correspondence,  which  continued  for  full  thirty  years 
more ;  on  the  contrary,  as  time  went  on,  their  letters 
eyince  more  and  more  warmth  of  aflection,  more 
earnest  desire  to  know  each  other's  thoughts  and  yiews 
on  all  sorts  of  questions,  and  an  agreement  of  senti- 
ment remarkable  where  each  thought  so  decidedly  for 
himself.  Not  only  did  the  two  friends  belong  to  the 
same  school  of  theology,  at  a  time,  too,  of  unusual 
theological  excitement  and  discussion,  but  even  in 
minor  details  of  ecclesiastical  questions  thej  were  gen- 
erally in  accord — Kerfoot,  as  was  natural,  showing 
marked  deference  to  Whittingham's  learning  and 
peculiar  spirituality  of  mind.  When  the  ciyil  war 
broke  out, — a  crisis,  which  in  those  dark  days  in  Mary- 
land either  separated  or  drew  closer  families  and 
friends, — the  two  men  were  kindred  spirits,  supporting 
each  other  in  the  serious  troubles  which  ensued.  The 
following  brief  note,  written  during  this  time  of 
anxiety,  and  enclosed  in  a  letter  to  one  of  the  professors 
at  St.  James's,  shows  at  once  the  ardor  of  Bishop 
"Whittingham's  attachment,  and  his  appreciation  of 
Dr.  Kerfoot's  friendship  : 

My  own  Dear  Brother  and  Son, — I  cannot  write  to  any 
one  in  the  College  without  dropping  at  least  one  line  to  )'ou 
to  entreat  you  not  to  put  the  too  natural  construction  on  my 
total  silence.     Every   one   of  your  letters   has   been  most 


160 


LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.        [Chap.  VI. 


welcome  to  me — parts  of  some  very  precious.  He  who 
searches  the  heart  knows  better  than  I  do  why  I  have  from 
day  to  day  denied  myself  what  I  longed  for,  the  due  acknow- 
ledgment of  your  outpourings  of  mingled  sorrows,  anxieties, 
consolations  and  gushings  of  fraternal  and  filial  love.'  Not 
a  day — hardly  two  consecutive  hours— has  passed  without  my 
feeling  warmed  by  the  thought  of  you,  yours,  and  your  com- 
munication with  me  of  your  cares  and  toils  and  joys  and 
comforts.  God  reward  and  bless  you,  ever  prays  your 
loving 

W.  R.  Whittingham. 
Wed.  2.30  p.  m.,  21  May,  1862. 
The  Rev.  J.  B.  Kerfoot,  D.  D. 

When  Dr.  Kerfoot  was  elected  Bishop  of  Pittsburgh, 
Whittingham's  counsel,  equally  with  Muhlenberg's, 
was  sought  among  the  first :  and  afterwards,  in  the 
many  trials  and  perplexities  of  the  Episcopate,  the 
two  Bishops  maintained  as  close,  though  of  course  not 
quite  so  frequent,  a  correspondence  as  in  days  of  old. 
One  is  reminded  of  the  long  friendship  and  corres- 
pondence between  Sir  J.  T.  Coleridge  and  Dr.  Arnold, 
so  well  brought  out  in  Stanley's  Life  of  the  great 
teacher.    Writing  to  Coleridge  on  September  17,  1832, 


'  Perhaps  it  maj'  be  weU  to  ex- 
plain to  what  the  Bishop  allude3. 
Bishop  Whittingham  (veiy  need- 
lessly, as  it  turned  out)  seemed 
to  anticipate  that  in  the  ap- 
proaching Diocesan  Convention, 
which  assembled  one  week  after 
his  note  was  written,  an  attempt 
would  be  made  to  pass  some  cen- 
sure upon  the  course  which  he 
had  thought  it  his  duty  to  adopt 
in  politico-ecclesiastical  affairs. 
Dr.   Kerfoot    was    preparing    to 


defend  his  Bishop,  if  necessary, 
at  whatever  cost.  But  the  Bishop 
maintained  absolute  silence.  Dr. 
Kerfoot  for  a  long  time  received 
no  answer  to  any  of  his  letters. 
At  last  he  understood  that  it  was 
because  the  Bishop  wished  him 
to  be  able  to  act  quite  indepen- 
dently ;  the  Bishop  desired  to  be 
able  to  say  that  he  had  said  and 
done  nothing  to  influence  Dr.  Ker- 
foot in  anything  he  might  see  fit 
to  do  in  the  matter  in  question. 


1846.]  BISHOP  WHITTINGHAM.  161 

Arnold  says :  "  Send  me  a  letter  to  tell  me  fally  about 
you  and  yours.  It  is  sad  we  can  never  meet,  but  we 
must  write  oftener.  Business  ought  not  so  to  master 
us  as  not  to  leave  time  for  better  business,  and  one 
which  I  trust  will  last  longer,  for  I  love  to  think  that 
Christian  friendship  rnay  he  part  of  the  business  of 
eternity  "  (vol.  I,  p.  271). 

When  Bishop  Kerfoot,  stricken  down  and  unable 
any  longer  to  work,  was  peacefully  waiting  at  Meyers- 
dale  for  the  approaching  end,  while  keenly  alive  to 
the  pang  of  parting  with  those  whom  he  must  leave 
behind  him,  he  would  frequently  say,  as  if  dwelling 
on  these  friendsliips  of  eternity,  "  I  want  to  go  to 
Bishop  Whittingham  and  my  dear  Abel." 

Correspondence. 
The  Rev.  J.  B.  Kerfoot  to  the  Bishop  of  Maryland. 

College  of  St.  James,  Jan.  3,  1846. 

Mu  Dear  Bishop. — I  enclose  you  two  checks,  each  fifty 
A   ^^  f  ^-     ,  c       -TV-  nr-     •  \  Bishop's  Chari- 

dollars,  from  our  oflertory — one  for  Diocesau  Missions  ana  ties. 
one  for  '•'Bishop's  Charities,^'  etc.  "We  agreed  that  a  bishop 
ought  to  have  such  contributions  to  use  in  any  kind  of 
benevolence  he  saw  fit — the  poor  of  his  flock  anywhere,  or 
the  needy  among  his  clergy,  or  those  dependent  upon  them 
or  left  destitute  by  them,  or  in  any  other  mode  which  may 
present  itself.  .... 

The   next  letter  tells   of  his   first  great   domestic 

sorrow — the  death  of  his  second  son,  an  exceedingly 

lovely  child.' 

Easter  Monday,  1851. 

My  Dear  Bishop, — Your  letter  of  the  15th  was  very  kind —  Death  of  his 
just  what  I  knew  you  would  feel  and  say.    It  came,  too,  the  Attat.  4.  '    " 

'  [See  ante,  Dr.  Muhlenberg's  letter,  p.  137.] 


162  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.        [Chap.  VI. 

first  of  several  such  letters  that  have  already  reached  us. 
Mrs.  K.  and  myself  unite  in  thanking  you  most  warmly  for 

your  warm  sympathy  and  your  fatherly  blessing So 

far  I  think  we  have  been  upheld  and  blessed  far  beyond  any 

hopes  I  could  beforehand  have  entertained God  has 

been  very  good  to  us  tliroughout.  My  child's  illness  was 
very  brief.  He  was  seemingly  full  of  health  and  glee  up  to 
2  p.  m.  on  Tuesday  the  8th.  Ko  serious  concern  was  felt 
till  Thursday,  nor  then  any  fear  of  fatal  result.  I  was,  how- 
ever, telegraphed  for  by  a  messenger,  who  went  to  Frederick' 
for  the  purpose  at  noon  on  that  day,  with  whom  I  reached 
the  College  at  12  o'clock  midnight.  Willy  had  then  been 
delirious  for  eight  or  ten  hours,  and  knew  no  one  till  Saturday 

afternoon Then  he  knew  me ;  played  a  little  with 

some  marbles  I  had  brought  home  for  him ;  understood  my 
account  of  whence  and  for  whom  I  had  got  them  ;  said  "  sank 
(thank)  you,"  threw  his  little  arms  about  my  neck,  and 
hugged  me.  This  sweet  reminiscence  I  can  now  cherish — 
the  last  he  left  me  of  full  recognition  and  love,  save  a  long, 
intensely  earnest  gaze  just  before  he  died  next  day.  His 
mind  soon  wandered  ....  and  he  sank  quietly,  sweetly 
and,  it  seemed  to  us  all,  painlessly  asleep  at  20  minutes  past 

2  p.  m.  on  Palm  Sunday Our  kind  friends   of  the 

College  were  then  with  us,  and  no  sign  of  love  and  sympathy 
could  have  been  added  to  those  we  have  had  from  every  one 
around  us.  Mrs.  K.  and  I  both  feel  that,  besides  the  sanctity 
which  sorrow,  death  and  a  grave  have  added  to  our  already 
loved  home,  the  gentle,  thoughtful,  loving  sympathy,  watch- 
ful and  inventive  to  try  and  soothe  us,  has  made  our  College 
community  very  dear  to  us,  Wednesday  in  Holy  Week 
was  the  day  of  the  funeral.  That  evening  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Anderson  reached  here,  not  having  received  our  telegraphic 
message  till  10  p.  m.  on  Monday.  Their  arrival  and  their 
experience  in  such  sorrows  have  greatly  cheered  and  helped  us. 
Willy,   so  all  say,   was  an   unusually  bright  and  gleeful 

'  [At  that  time  there  was  no  telegraph  nearer  than  Frederick,  26  miles 
distant.] 


1852.]  BISHOP  WmTTINGHAM.  163 

child ;  it  is  clear  that  others  besides  his  parents  thought  so. 
He  was  fond  of  the  boys,  ....  fond  of  running  out,  and 
was  a  general  pet  among  boys  and  all.  He  was  the  most 
gleeful  (I  know  no  other  true  word)  of  our  children,  full  of 
fun  and  kindly  mischief,  and  I  often  told  him  he  was  a 
"houseful."  He  loved  the  name,  and  often  asked  me, 
"Papa,  ain't  I  a  houseful?"  His  merry  voice  kept  the 
house  ringing,  and  we  miss  it.  But  we  have  not  once 
repined.  We  know  what  is  meant  by  "  We  would  not  have 
him  back  again."  No,  not  for  a  thousand  times  the  joy  he 
gave  us !  He  was  a  sweet  singer  of  holy  chants,  those 
he  learned  in  our  chapel.  Often  every  day  we  used  to  sit  and 
listen  to  his  dear  little  voice  singing  them.  One  anthem 
(1st  verse  of  Psalm  48,    "Great  is   the   Lord")   was  his 

favorite The  choir  sang  it  as  he  lay  asleep  before  the 

chancel Good  boj's.  who  loved  him  and  us,  carried 

him  to  his  grave,  and  j-esterday  I  was  deeply  moved  to  find 
that  little  grave  covered  with  flowers,  which  some  loving 
hands,  unknown  to  us,  had  strewn  over  it  from  head  to  foot. 
So  from  our  tender  Father  and  Saviour,  and  from  fellow- 
members,  3'ounger  and  older,  in  Christ,  we  have  had  very 
much  of  comfort.  But  O  !  how  have  the  truths  ....  of  the 
regeneration  of  all  in  baptism,  of  the  Communion  of  Saints, 
of  Paradise,  of  the  Resurrection,  of  Christ's  perfect  love, 
come  home  as  new  truths  to  our  hearts !....!  am  not 
writing  too  much  for  one  who  loves  us  as  you  do.     God  bless 

you  that  I  and  my  wife  can  feel  and  know  this Your 

truly  aftectionate  and  grateful  son, 

J.  B.  K. 

To  the  same. 

May  15,  1852. 

My  wishes  for  Bishop  Doane's  escape  are  most  Ecclesiastical 

hearty.  I  wish  m}'  hopes  were  as  good.  He  cannot  have 
been  criminal,  but  no  doubt  he  did  things  that  must  seem  to 
be  what  over-sensitive  clergymen  would  be  very  apt  to  call 
crime.  Sensible  laymen  would  not.  I  bargain  for  laymen  to 
try  me  when  I  get  to  be  a  bishop  and  am  presented  at  court ! 
Xay,  I  beg  now  to  have  laymen,  men  of  Christ,  knowing  the 


164 


LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.         [Chap.  VI. 


world,  to  be  the  triers  of  presbyters  in  matters  of  fact  and 
errors.  If  trial  by  peers  is  ever  a  humbug,  it  is  when  any 
order  of  clergy  are  the  jurymen.  I  did  hold  that  the  clergy 
could  best  try  for  heresy,  but  the  Massachusetts  court'  makes 
me  incline  to  the  opinion  that  clergy  are  fit  to  "  try ''  nobody, 
on  any  charge.  They  will  indict  a  brother  for  being  sus- 
pected, and  then  hang  liim  for  being  indicted !  Pray,  my  dear 
Bishop,  when  you  have  to  nominate  my  court,  give  me  lay- 
men.    All  are  well 

Truly  and  affectionately  your  son, 

J.  B.  Kebfoot. 

The  Bishop  of  Maryland  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Kerfoot."^ 

Baltimore,  Jan.  18-19,  1853. 
Death  of  his     Dear  Kerfoot,—M.\  thoughts  and  my  prayers  have  been 

infant  son  j        ^  j  o  j    s.      j 

J.  B.  K., '  with  you  and  for  you  and  yours,  every  hour  since  I  heard  of 
this  last  fatherly  proof  of  your  trust  in  God  and  faith  in  His 
mysterious  care  and  love,  but  I  have  not  felt  able  to  write 
till  now  ;  and  now,  it  is  under  the  crushing  weight  of  another 
and  far  other  sort  of  dispensation  of  chastisement  and  trial. 
From  you  God  has  taken  a  treasure  on  earth  to  make  it  sure 
in  the  eternal  storehouse  of  His  love.  Your  little  one  is  not 
to  the  eye  of  your  body,  but  is  incomparabl}''  exalted  and 
advantaged  and  more  yours  than  ever,  to  the  eye  of  your 
faith.  A  Christian  parent  can  hardly  be  condoled  with  on 
the  removal  from  this  world's  fierce  tempests  and  dreadful 
trials  to  a  haven  of  unbroken  rest,  of  an  innocent  washed  in 
the  blood  of  the  Lamb  and  sealed  with  the  spirit  of  joy  and 
peace  and  holiness.  Infantile  purity  and  grace  and  loveli- 
ness are  assured  to  it  forever.  No  more  growth  of  fleshly 
lusts,  of  fierce  and  warring  passions,  of  wayward  will,  but 
growth  forever  in  the  likeness  of  the  Son  of  God.  No  more 
fear  of  falling,  no  more  stain  of  guilt,  but  a  career  of  bright- 
ness, never  to  know  a  stay.    O !  how  puny  human  weakness 


1  [Trial  of  Rev.  Oliver  S.  Pres- 
cott.] 

2  Mr.  Kerfoot  had  received,  in 


1850,  the  degree  of  Doctor  in 
Divinity  from  Columbia  College, 
New  York. 


1853.]  BISHOP  WEITTINGHAM.  165 

might  envy  (if  it  dared  to  allow  such  arraignment  of  its 
Father's  love  and  wisdom)  the  babes  in  Christ  that  are  taken 
away  from  life's  troubled  sea  ! 

But  /  have  lost  a  son  in  the  ministry,  just  come  to  man- 
hood, just  giving  fair  promise  of  vigorous  work,  just  adorning 
his  profession  and  making  proof  of  his  inheritance  of  the 
good  gift  committed  to  him  in  the  laying  on  of  hands. 

Harry  Windsor'  has  been  cut  ofl'  in  his  flower ;  his  cold 
remains  lie  now  in  St.  Paul's,  to  be  this  day  committed 
earth  to  earth,  and  dust  to  dust.  His  bereaved  mother 
(how  bereaved  in  this  fourth  sore  stroke !)  and  widowed 
wife  and  orphaned  babe  are  doubtless  here,  waiting  to  weep 
their  last  fond  leave-taking  of  the  perishing  rest  of  him 
who  was  their  earthl}'  stay  and  pride.  And  here  am  I,  shut 
up,  voiceless,-  unable  even  to  lament  over  the  loss  which 
for  myself,  and  still  more  for  my  diocese,  I  feel  so  bitterly. 

Thus  far  I  had  written  yesterday,  when  a  packet  of  letters 
came  in,  all  of  which  required  immediate  attention ;  and 
before  I  had  got  through  with  them  daj^light  had  closed  and 
my  eyes  gave  out.  This  morning  one  after  another  has  been 
in,  until  now  it  is  long  past  midday,  before  I  can  resume  my 
broken  train  of  thought ;  so  far  as  you  are  concerned,  that  is 
to  say,  for  I  have  been  thinking  of  Windsor  and  Johnnie  and 
you,  and  the  truths  that  are  beyond  the  veil,  and  the  many 
delusions,  external  and  of  the  heart's  own  growth,  that  hide 
them  from  our  eyes,  every  hour  and  almost  every  minute 
since.  O  how  life  is  made  up  of  perturbations  !  and  surely, 
among  men,  most  the  clergyman's,  and  among  the  clergy, 
most  of  all  a  bishop's  ! 

Last  night  came  a  letter  from  Bishop  Green,  entreating 

'  The  Rev.  Heury  John  Wind-    |    sermons,  on  the  text,  "  0   Tim- 


sor,  a  youno;  clergyman  of  rare 
promise,  had  been  ordained  with 
Cornelius  Edwin  Swope  on  the 
second  Sunday  in  Lent,  1850,  in 
the  chapel  of  St.  James's  College. 
The  Bishop  preached  on  this  occa- 
sion one  of  his  fine  ordination 


othtj,  keep  that  luhich  is  committed 
to  thy  trust,"  etc. 

2  The  Bishop  was  at  this  time 
suffering  from  one  of  his  frequent 
attacks  of  loss  of  voice  and  de- 
bility. 


166  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.        [Chap.  VI. 

my  immediate  assistance  in  finding  a  new  rector  for  his 
college  (St,  Andrew's,  lately  incorporated,  the  Bishop  tells 
me,  with  "a  charter  modelled  after  the  very  words  of  St. 
James's,  except  that  we  took  care  to  leave  out  those  two 
clauses  that  restrict  the  property  to  a  certain  amount,  and  give 
the  legislature  a  power  of  repealing  the  whole  charter  ").  .  .  . 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Kerfoot  to  the  Bishop  of  Maryland. 

May  21,  1853. 

EomT^^^  ^  ....  Poor  Baker's  defection,  the  sorrow  for  which  you 
are  yet  feeling  in  its  freshness,  has  become  an  old  and,  I 
think,  not  very  significant  thing  by  this  time.  The  first  shock 
was  one  of  grief,  then,  soon  and  rightly,  of  intense  indigna- 
tion at  the  treachery  (no  matter  what  he  thought  it)  which 
could  minister  at  our  altars  with  the  written  resolve  of  schism 
in  his  pocket.  Who  may  not  dread  and  hate  Romanism  for 
its  sure  moral  blight  in  every  case  of  such  a  fall !  .  .  .  . 
Laymen  and  others  have  gone  to  work,  and  "  St.  Luke's  is  not 
to  be  allowed  to  go  down"  is,  I  am  told,  the  word  now,  and 
so  I  hope  good  may  come  from  the  evil.  And  there  is  surely 
one  needful  lesson  to  be  learned,  that  such  extreme  teaching 
as  Baker  certainl}'  did  give ;  e.  g.  on  Easter  Day,  Real 
Presence  so  spoken  of,  that  while  he  might  plausibly  defend 
the  sermon  among  us,  it  would  have  needed  no  defence 
among  Romanists,  and  Lent  lectures  on  B.  V.  Mary 
that  touched  the  ladies  and  startled  the  prudent ;  and  a  series 
of  lectures  on  "  the  seven  chief  works  of  mercy,"  et  id  genus 
omne:  all  these  things,  and  that  excessive  and  childish  devo- 
"JiUuaiism"  tion  to  Essthetics,  etc.,  etc.,  which  we  have  tolerated  quite  too 
in  its  i?>fancy.  ^^^y^^  and  some  of  which  appeared  in  St.  Luke's  Church  and 
its  arrangements,  while  clear,  simple,  individual  faith  in 
Christ  did  somehow  find  itself  among  the  truths  so  thoroughly 
taken  for  granted,  that  it  was  generally  not  deemed  necessary 
to  press  that  truth  prominently  forth.  Now,  you  never  let  it 
slip  back ;  but  there  have  been  too  many  of  our  super- 
Catholics  who  did  and  who  do.  And  while  sober  men  ought 
never  to  abandon  a  truth  because  foolish  ones  pervert  it,  and 


1856.]  BISHOP  WHITTINQHAM.  167 

therefore  sound  churchmen  have  no  new  truths  to  learn,  nor 
old  docti'ines  to  cast  away,  yet  I  do  feel  that  some  of  us  may, 
with  profit  to  preacher  and  people,  reproduce  some  of  these 
half- forgotten  axioms  in  the  scheme  of  each  one's  salvation. 
Then  Popery  will  not  flourish  in  the  Church.  There  is  danger 
of  recoil  into  error,  and  into  some  dread  of  adhering  to  the 
whole  truth  ;  but  still  we  owe  it  to  ourselves  and  our  charge 
to  take  due  warning  from  such  results 

Oct.  13,  1855. 
My  Dear  BisJiop, — We  are  afloat  now,  and  though  it  is  late  prof.  Alex. 
this  evening,  I  will  write  a  line  to  let  you  know  of  our  well-  ^^^^  p^.d. 
doing.     As  to  numbers  my  expectations  are  just  fulfilled.  .  .  . 
But  our  new  professor.  Dr.  Falk,  is  the  great  gain.     He  is 
far  beyond  any  expectations  I  had  formed.     As  a  gentleman, 
a  Christian,  a  scholar  and  a  teacher  he  is  peculiarly  the  right 
man  for  us.     His  general  acquirements  and  information  are 
very  great ;  so  are  his  classical  attainments.      He  is  very 
gentle  and  courteous,  very  firm  and  exact,  and  enters  cor- 
dially and  earnestly  into  the  spirit  of  our  work  here.    The 
boys  are  very  much  taken  with  him  ;  so  am  I ;  so  are  we  all. .  . . 

The  Bishop  of  Maryland  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Kerfoot. 

Baltimore,  Feb.  20,  1856. 

Dear  Kerfoot,— I  got  last  evening  on  my  return   your  own  Death  of  Ms 
announcement  of  the  sad  news  which  I  had  heard  from  Evans  ^/^^  3^' 
on  the  cars  a  few  hours  before. 

May  He  whom  you  serve  in  dispensing  blessings  to  other 
parents  now  reward  you  by  enabling  you  to  feel  and  know 
the  comfort  with  which  He  comforts  Christian  parents  when 
He  takes  away  their  treasures  to  lay  them  up  in  the  secret 
storehouses  of  His  rich  love !  The  heart  cannot  but  be  rent 
in  giving  them  up,  even  to  Him,  so  long  as  poor  flesh  and 
blood  claim  their  power  over  us  ;  but  oh  how  rich  a  consola- 
tion there  is  in  resigning  them  to  Him  who  hath  loved  them 
and  written  their  names  in  His  book  of  life,  and  called  them 
home  too  early  to  be  stained  again  with  the  sin  which  He 


168  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.        [Chap.  VI. 

has  washed  away  from  them  in  his  own  blood  and  the  bap- 
tismal waters !     I  have  one  with  Him,  and 

I  feel  assm'ed  you  need  no  attempt  of  mine  to  draw  for  you 
from  the  precious  Gospel  of  our  Lord  the  ricli  stores  it  fur- 
nishes for  times  of  trial  like  that  in  which  you  are  now  being 
schooled.  As  little,  I  trust,  will  she,  whose  trial  is  even 
harder  than  yours,  need  mere  human  support  to  bear  her  up; 
yet  you  cannot  but  remember  that  one  of  the  merciful  alle- 
viations and  compensations  of  your  own  sufterings  under  this 
bereavement  is  to  turn  the  inferior  impressibility  of  our  sex 
to  account  by  becoming  the  double  comfort  of  the  sorrowing 
mother  and  sympathizing  wife.  Your  manifold  other  cares, 
too,  must  soon  sear  over  your  wounded  heart.  Her  concen- 
tration in  her  domestic  life  leaves  her  more  subject  to  the 
continuing  pressure  of  her  sorrow,  and  therefore  more  in 
need  of  your  teaching  and  help  to  rejoice  ;  yes,  as  loving, 
docile  children  of  Him  who  is  dealing  with  you,  to  rejoice  in 
bearing  what  your  P'ather  in  heaven  sees  it  good  and  wise  to 
lay  on  you.  You  have  many,  many  prayers  to  go  up  for  you, 
and  draw  down  blessings  in  your  sorrows.  One,  at  least, 
feels  more  than  ever  drawn,  in  gratitude  for  recent  obligations 
said  on  a  father's  heart,  to  endeavor  what  he  can  for  the  repay- 
ment of  debt  beyond  his  own  power  of  discharge,  in  a  better 
form,  from  a  higher  source.  May  God  reward  you  for  your 
care  of  my  child  by  comforting  you  for  the  loss  of  yours ! 

Poor  Passmore,  too,  has  been  suflering,  oh  how  deeply  ! 
in  a  double  blow.  Of  this,  too,  I  heard  only  yesterday.  It 
seems  as  if  the  last  provision  had  been  made  for  giving  depth 
and  earnestness  to  the  tone  of  spiritual  life  in  this  Lenten 
season  at  the  College.  Oh  may  it  indeed  be  a  season  fraught 
with  blessings  to  you  all,  and  most  of  all,  to  those  who, 
because  they  most  need  them,  are  least  sensible  of  their  need! 
Your  loving  friend, 

W.  R.  Whittingham. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Kerfoot  to  the  Bishop  of  Maryland. 

Dayton,  Ohio,  May  3,  1858. 
lUnessofDr.     jj^y  jy^ar  Bishop^ — I    am    writing    from    my   dear    aged 
mother.         mother's  sick-room.    I  have  been  here  nine  days,  and  set 


1858.]  BISHOP  WHITTINGHAM.  169 

out,  God  willing,  on  my  return  to  the  College  to-morrow. 
But  for  that  duty  I  would  give  up  all  others  and  stay  here.  I 
have  scarcely  a  hope  of  ever  seeing  my  mother  alive  again. 
She  possibly  may  live  on  till  my  vacation  in  July ;  probably 
one  month  more  will  be  the  limit  of  her  stay,  and  she  may 
not  continue  a  week.  Were  there  any  very  strong  indication 
of  her  very  early  removal,  I  would  trust  the  College  to  God 
and  stay  on  here.  But  this  very  uncertainty  makes  my  trial 
as  to  when  I  ought  to  go  one  of  the  sorest  I  have  ever  had. 
I  cannot  stay  on  indefinitelj'.  My  sister  (with  whom  mother 
is)  and  my  two  brothers,  with  their  families,  give  her  every 
love  and  care ;  but  my  company  and  nursing,  and  the 
religious  services  I  can  give,  are  very  precious  to  my  dear 
mother,  and  to  me,  too,  the  privilege  is  bej'ond  estimate.  I 
have  prayed  to  be  guided  aright.  It  would  be  sad  to  me  if 
the  end  were  to  come  soon  after  ray  leaving  :  it  may  be  post- 
poned many  weeks.  Samuel  was  here  from  Chicago  last 
week  and  left  on  Saturday.  We  are  both  to  be  recalled  at 
any  moment,  though  we  can  hardly  hope  to  find  our  mother 
alive.     We   had  a  family  communion  with  our  mother  on 

Wednesday  last I  administered.     All  of  mother's 

children,  three  of  their  wives,  and  one  son-in-law  and  three 
grandchildren  communed  with  her.  Our  last  joint  com- 
munion on  earth,  we  all  believed.  O  that  I  may  yet  have  the 
comfort  of  being  with  her  in  her  last  hours !  Mother  Just 
spoke  of  3'our  having .  confirmed  her  in  our  chapel.  She 
knows  all  her  situation,  and  has  full  confidence  in  Him  whom 

she  has  served  so  long She  has  been  a  mother  such 

as  not  many  families  have  had  to  bless  them,  and  few 
mothers  have  so  much  to  gladden  old  age  as  she  has 

In  Brand's  Life  of  Bishop  Whittingham,  vol.  II.  p. 
102,  will  be  found  a  letter  from  tlie  Bishop  to  Dr. 
Kerfoot  on  marriage  and  divorce,  with  reference  to 
the  case  of  a  colored  woman,  one  of  the  domestics  of 
the  College,  who  wished  to  marrj  again.  Her  hus- 
band, in  times  of  slavery,  had  been  separated    from 


170  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.       [Chap.  VI. 

her,  and  was  living  with  another  woman,  but  there  had 
been  no  legal  divorce,  and  none  could  be  obtained 
in  such  a  case,  according  to  the  laws  of  Maryland, 
by  a  colored  person.  The  following  is  Dr.  Kerfoot's 
reply  to  the  above-mentioned  letter: 

The  Rev,  Dr.  Kcrfoot  to  the  Bishop  of  Maryland. 

April  7,  18G1. 
Marriage  and  My  Dear  Bishop, — While  waiting  an  engagement  of  other 
duty  I  will  at  least  begin  a  note  to  you  about  the  case  you 
wrote  of  to  me.  I  must  have  failed  to  express  the  full  state 
of  things  to  you ;  for  your  letter  seems  to  refer  to  a  very 
different  case.  If  I  understand  it,  it  was  written  to  answer 
the  enquir}^  whether  a  man  and  wife  being  separated  by  the 
sale  of  either,  or  by  other  act  of  legal  owners,  that  (even 
granting  it  to  be  a  final  severance)  would  justify  either  in 
taking  a  new  partner.  Clearly  not ;  both  must  then  live  in 
single  estate  till  one  of  the  two  die.  That  is  not  the  enquiry 
now.     The  case  is  this. 

Such  separation,  by  sale  of  the  husband,  took  place.  The 
wife  lived  seven  years  unmarried  in  entu-e  chastity.  The 
man  took  another  woman  after  three  years  of  the  separation, 
and  wrote  to  her  that  he  had  done  this  ;  and  so  he  did  commit 
"  adultery."  He  did  that  which  our  Lord  declared  the  one  only 
but  the  sufficient  ground  for  full  divorce,  such  a  divorce  as 
would  allow  the  remarriage  of  the  innocent  party.  I  know 
that  another  theory  has  been  and  is  held  by  some,  denying 
the  lawfulness  of  any  marriage  till  death  severs  the  two.  I 
do  not  understand  you  as  basing  your  judgment  on  that 
theory,  but  on  the  one  which  judges  the  new  marriage  to  be 
allowed  by  Christ  afier  divorce  for  adultery. 

The  question  I  meant  to  put  resolves  itself  in  this  case  into 
this :  Is  the  action  of  the  civil  authorities,  in  whatever  way 
the  State  law  prescribes,  an  essential  part  of  a  divorce? 
That  is,  can  there  be  no  divorce  unless  the  civil  law  and 
magistrate  intervene?    Is  this  true,  so  that,  even  where  the 


1861.]  BISHOP  WHITTINGHAM.  171 

State  ignores  the  whole  matter  (e.  g.  in  heathendom,  and 
among  us,  towards  slaves,  etc.),  or  where  there  ?*s  no  State,  as 
in  some  lands  where  the  Gospel  goes,  divorce  for  adultery  is 
still  impossible  ?  It  is  clear  where  there  is  a  State  ready  to 
act  under  the  Gospel  law  tliere^  our  due  allegiance  to  it  settles 
our  duty.  We  appeal  to  the  civil  magistrate  and  to  the 
Church ;  but  when  the  sin  of  the  one  party  has  given  the 
very  cause  named  by  our  Lord,  without  and  against  all  wish  of 
the  other  party,  and  the  State  ignores  them  utterly,  i.  e.  when 
to  them  there  is  no  State  tribunal  nor  any  legal  recourse  or 
obligation,  quoad  hoc^  is  not  the  whole  case  remanded  to  the 
Church,  as  though  she  were  out  on  a  mission  to  Central 
Africa?  Are  not  the  bishop  and  his  presbyters  then  the 
rightful  and  sufficient  tribunal  and  magistracy  of  Christ? 
Did  you  mean  to  answer  this  question  and  this  case?  It 
seems  not  to  me. 

I  have  long  and  often  thought  of  this,  and  now  again  review 
the  question  ;  and  my  conviction  grows  that  justice  and 
purity  require  such  church  action  as  the  due  of  the  souls  of 
our  humble  members.  The  State  opposes  no  bar.  No  one 
would  call  it  ecclesiastical  assumption.  The  practical  and 
conceded  and  allowed  result  of  the  other  course  is,  that  we 
admit  these  poor  people  to  our  altars,  after  marriages  done 
under  our  eyes,  though  refused  as  unholy  by  our  ministrations. 
So  I  was  told  some  months  ago  by  a  most  discreet  and  sensi- 
tive Southern  presbyter.  Still,  I  mean  that  Bishops,  not 
separate  presbyters,  should  so  rule  and  sanction.  I  have 
told  Margaret  of  your  letter  and  of  my  own  scruples,  and 
said  that  unless  I  can  get  her  a  legal  divorce,  I  will  not 
officiate.  My  own  conscience  would  hesitate  unless  I  had 
episcopal  recognition  of  what  /believe  does  exist  ever  since 
the  man  took  another  woman — a  divorce  ipso  facto  by  the  law 
and  in  the  eye  of  Christ.  I  advise  Margaret  to  wait ;  but  I 
have  not  felt  authorized  to  press  on  her  conscience  the  doc- 
trine that  this  proposed  union  would  be  unlawful  and  sinful, 
when  all  that  is  lacking  is  the  civil  act,  which,  so  far  as  I 
have  yet  (after  some  enquiry  of  lawyers)  been  able  to  learn, 
is  denied  to  these  people.    I  do  not  see  any  precept  in   the 


172  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  EERFOOT.      [Chap.  VI. 

Scriptures  requiring  the  civil  sentence  to  make  the  divorce 
real  before  God.  Of  course,  where  the  State  imposes  laws 
and  modes  of  action,  this  settles  duty.  No  such  duty  rests 
on  these  Africans  ;  they  are  unknown  in  the  State's  law  of 
marriage  and  divorce. 

These  remarks  indicate  what  I  should  counsel  a  bishop 
to  do,  were  I  asked  by  him  for  my  advice  and  opinion. 
As  a  presbyter,  I  cheerfully  conform  to  the  advice  you 
sent ;  but  I  venture  still  to  ask,  did  your  answer  refer 
to  the  case  as  I  now,  perhaps  more  clearly,  state  it?  I 
thought  your  original  letter  answered  quite  a  different 
enquii-y.  And  I  am  strongly  impressed  that  as  a  church  we 
must  meet  these  questions  more  fully,  or  else  fail  to  give 
Christ's  sheep  the  guidance  and  defence  He  empowers  and 
requires  His  Church  to  give 

Bishop  Whittingham  replied  as  follows : 

Baltimore,  April  10,  1861. 
No  remarriage     My  Dear  Kerfoot^ — In  the  pressure  of  my  last  day  before  a 
ivmce.   fQi-^jjigfji^jg  visitation,  I  have  only  time  for  very  brief  answer 
to  your  interesting  letter,  but  am  able  to  use  Mr.  Cameron 
[his  secretary]  to  advantage  to  supplement  it. 

I  did  not  mistake  your  case  ;  but  I  did,  in  ignorance,  mis- 
take your  position  with  regard  to  it,  and  assume  that  you 
agreed  with  me  as  to  the  position  of  a  divorced  woman.  It 
was  in  the  assumption  that  the  procedure  of  Margaret's  hus- 
band could  not  loose  her  bond,  or  leave  her  free,  that  I  wrote. 
I  am  able  to  send  you  my  reasons  for  that  assumption,  as 
stated  in  another  case,  with  reference  to  a  woman  of  the 
highest  connections  in  Maryland — a  fact  which  I  mention  as 
showing  that  it  is  not  mere  dealing  with  a  poor  slave  that 
makes  me  take  the  harsher  view  ;  that  the  law  for  her  is  what 
the  Church  deals  out  to  her  most  favored  and  pampered 
daughters.  Mr.  Cameron  will  inclose  this  with  a  copy  of  the 
two  letters  to  which  I  refer 

The  reader  who  desires  to  know  more  particularly 
the  grounds  of  Bishop  Whittingham's  opinion  on  this 


1867.]  BISHOP  WEITTINGHAM.  173 

vexed  question  -will  find  the  principal  parts  of  the 
enclosures  of  whicli  Bishop  W.  speaks  in  Brand's  Z^/e, 
etc.,  vol.  I,  p.  486,  488.  For  some  remarks  by  Dr. 
Brand  on  Bishop  Whittingham's  opinions  on  marriage 
and  divorce,  see  ibid.  vol.  II,  p.  286. 

The  following  letters,  which  belong  to  a  much  later 
period,  are  added  at  the  close  of  this  chapter  to  show 
how  the  intimate  intercourse  between  the  two  men 
continued  after  Dr.  Kerfoot  left  Maryland  and  was 
absorbed  in  the  cares  of  his  episcopate. 

The  Bishop  of  Pittsburgh  to  the  Bishop  of  Maryland. 

Pittsburgh,  May  7,  1867. 

My  Dear,  Dear  Bishop  and  Father, — I  have  not  ^ovgoiiQU  His  health  and 
1  .  T  7j  i     \  -ii.        love  of  his  new 

you  or  your  needs,  or  my  promise.  I  ought  to  have  written,  yjQj.i^[ 
but  I  waited  to  see  my  way  clear  to  offer  the  time  and  work 
[for  episcopal  services  in  Maryland] .  My  home  cares — heavy 
ones,  owing  to  ill-health  in  my  family  .  .  . ;  the  pressure  of  a 
new  and  craving,  exacting  diocese  ;  my  own  strength  better 
than  for  a  year  past,  but  (as  I  know,  though  I  don't  like  to 
confess  it  before  my  first  pair  of  lawn  sleeves  are  worn  out) 
often  just  enough  to  get  on  with  by  care — these  have  kept  me 
postponing.  My  general  health  is  greatly  better.  I  look  and 
I  am,  generally,  "well,"  but  now  and  then,  even  this  spring, 
have  come  some  of  those  ugly  "running  downs  "  that  several 
times  last  year  utterly  broke  me ;  alarmed  my  new  charge 
lest  they  had  begun,  where  they  left  oft',  with  a  broken-down 
bishop.  My  own  agony  then  at  such  a  starting  was  real.  I 
have  thus  to  talk  to  show  that  I  have  not  forgotten,  7iever 
could  forget,  you  and  your  long,  weary  weakness  and  oflicial 

need I  know  how  dear  to  you  would  be  our  meeting 

and  my  help  to  you. 

I  long  to  talk  over  things  with  you.  My  work  here,  the 
pleasantest  of  my  life,  grows  well,  and  ever  keeps  ahead  of 
me.    If  I  can  keep  my  nervous  strength  up  (my  voice  never 


174  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.       [Chap.  VI. 

fails  now:  my  strength,  my  limbs  give  out)  for  a  year  or 
two,  I  have  every  hope.  .  .  ,    Your  own  true,  loving  son, 

J.  B.  Kerfoot. 

To  the  same. 

Pittsburgh,  Jan.  16,  1872. 
Comecratim     ^V  ^ery  Dear  BisJiop, — It  is  too  long  since  I  wrote  to  you, 
%MtTch!^    but  I  have  been  "on  the  go  "ever  since  [General]  Convention. 

My  special  occasion  for  writing  now  is  to  say  that  the 

new  Trinity  Cliurch,  a  noble  house,  is  to  be  consecrated  on  St. 
Paul's  Day,  the  anniversary  of  my  consecration.  I  thought 
of  you,  of  course,  among  the  first,  as  one  whom  I  should  like 
to  have  with  us,  but  it  seemed  so  like  a  mere  compliment  to 
ask  you  to  come,  that  I  did  not  a  few  days  ago,  when  writing 
some  such  notes,  send  one  of  them  to  you.  I  prefer  writing, 
as  I  do,  to  say  that  that  service  on  the  25th,  and  yet  still 
more,  far  more,  another  on  Sunday,  28th  (Abel's  ordination 
as  Priest),  will  carry  my  thoughts  back  in  time  and  in  loving 
recollections  to  you.  The  new  Trinity  Church  of  course 
proves  growth  ;  though  that  is  only  the  accomplishment  of  a 
plan  years  ago  made  and  cherished  by  Mr.  Schoenberger, 
whose  munificence  now  bears  more  than  half  the  cost. 

But  Abel's  ordination  as  Priest,  rich  in  mercy  in  itself  to 
him  and  to  us  all,  has  the  special  and  peculiar  depth  in  his 
case  that  it  means  our  assurance  that  the  dreaded  progress  of 
his  disease  is,  we  believe,  arrested.  More  than  three  years  of 
full  exemption  from  any  symptoms,  his  able  physician  says, 
proves,  with  the  fact  of  his  general  vigor,  his  deliverance  by 
God's  great  pity  and  love.  .  .  .  He  works  much  and  vigor- 
ously, and  is  well,  stroug  and  happy.  How  can  we  praise 
the  Great  Physician  enough !  If  the  distance  and  season 
were  not  such  obstacles,  I  would  beg  you  to  come  and  preach 
at  his  ordination.     Would  that  be  possible  ?  .   .  .  . 

I  know  only  by  rumors  of  the  changes  in  Mt.  Calvary 
Church,  Baltimore.'    I  have  often  thought  of  you  in  this  trial 

'  The  rector  (Curtis)  was  at  this  time  on  the  eve  of  seceding  to  Rome ; 
■which  soon  followed. 


1872.]  BISHOP  WHITTINGHAM.  175 

of  sore  agony,  I  am  sure,  to  you,  and  to  our  clear  friends  in 
Eutaw  Place.  The  word  is  very  scanty  and  indefinite  as  to 
what  has  been  or  is  to  be  in  the  case.  I  hope  and  pray  that 
no  secessions  to  Rome  may  ensue.  .  .  .  But  we  can  only 
do  our  part,  and  pray  that  the  Lord  God  may  overrule  and 
restrain  all  whom  we  love.  .  .  . 

The  Bishop  of  Maryland  to  the  Bishop  of  Pittsburgh. 

Baltimore,  Feast  of  the  Presentation,  1872. 

My  own  Dear  Friend  and  Brother,— Day  after  day  your 
most  kind  and  welcome  letter  has  lain  before  my  eyes,  at  the 
desk  still  temporarily  used  in  my  dining-room,  while  the 
slow,  slow  work  of  getting  my  library  into  its  designed  per- 
manent order  is  going  on,  and  others  incomparably  less 
valued  have  received  answers  from  one  to  sixteen  pages  in 
length,  because  I  have  been  able  to  do  only  a  certain  amount 
of  work,  and  the  other  answers  were  tasks,  while  yours 
would  have  been  indulgence.  At  last,  yesterday  I  got  up 
with  my  work,  when,  with  Abel's  most  loving  and  acceptable 
reminder  of  my  debt,  came  more  demands,  which  I  am  now 
through  again. 

My  head  is  giving  me  much  trouble,  disabling  me  for  con- 
tinuous thought,  talk  or  writing,  and  ail'ectiug  sight,  hearing, 
and  in  slight  degree,  speech  also.  I  have  been  voiceless,  too, 
from  tlie  middle  of  ISTovember  to  the  middle  of  January ;  but 
that  affection  has  in  some  degree  passed  away. 

When  your  letter  came  I  had  been  already  for  some  time 
under  engagements  for  Washington,  and  was  just  setting  out 
to  try  to  meet  them.  They  did  not  amount  to  much,  but  it 
was  all  I  could  do  to  get  well  through  them,  and  the  effort 
threw  me  back  again.  In  the  meanwhile  I  have  not  ceased 
to  think  of  you  and  3'ours,  and  have  indeed  been  with  you  in 
spirit  in  your  joys  and  triumph.  On  such  a  day  as  that  of  the 
consecration  of  your  glorious  church,  indeed,  my  absence 
could  be  hardly  appreciable,  and  great  as  the  enjoyment  for 
myself  would  have  been,  I  did  not  care  so  much  about  the 


176  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.        [Chap.  VI. 

loss,  because  it  was  my  own.  But  I  did  regret  much  my  utter 
inability  to  face  the  jouruey  that  might  otherwise  liave 
46er»  ordtna- enabled  me  to  partake  in  the  services  at  Abel's  ordination. 
In  them  I  knew  that,  beside  yourself  and  your  wife,  none 
other  could  so  truly  and  fully  be  a  fellow-helper  in  your 
rejoicing  as  I,  and  with  all  my  heart  I  desired  to  join  you  in  the 
endeavor  to  give  God  glory  and  thanks  for  the  crowning 
manifestation  of  His  guiding,  moulding,  cumulating  love  then 
vouchsafed  to  you  all.  I  am  deeply  touched  with  the  dear 
boy's  redoubled  reminiscence  of  me,  and  shall  ever  feel  our 
tie  of  mutual  love  deepened  and  strengthened  by  this  re- 
capitulation of  it,  as  it  were  (the  ava/ce^aAaiwo^f  of  Irenaeus),  in 
the  missive  of  Abel  the  Priest  taking  up  the  relations  of  Abel 
the  Schoolboy,  the  Collegian,  and  the  Deacon.  Singularly 
enough,  it  was  put  into  my  hands  together  with  another  of 
similar  tenor  from  Daniel  Heushaw,  entreating  me  to  assist 
at  his  institution  into  the  rectorship  of  his  lately  finished 
fine  stone  cliurch,  the  fruit  of  eighteen  years'  patient  work 
in  building  up  a  strong  congregation  on  the  foundations 
of  an  outskirt  city  mission.  He  pleads  ....  by  the 
memory  of  his  father,  to  which  his  church  is  dedicated.  As 
his  time  is  not  until  after  Easter,  I  hardly  know  how  to  say 
him  nay. 

Then  I  am  undergoing  hard  pressure  about  taking  up  the 
mission  to  Germany.  The  English  bishops  of  Lichfield, 
Lincoln  and  Ely,  and  Lord  Charles  Hervey,'  send  advice  to 
go ;  and  Friedrich,  Huber  and  Reinkens  jointly  sent  a  message 
to  the  same  eflect,  and  removing  all  grounds  of  objection  to 
their  position — affirming  (1)  that  they  speak  of  the  Tridentine 
position,  not  as  standpoint,  but  as  starting-point,  and  hold 
the  articles  of  the  Creed  of  Pius  IV,  each  and  all,  liable  to 
examination  by  the  tests  of  Scripture  and  truly  primitive 
tradition,  and  rejection  on  proof  of  inconformity,  which  they 
know  to  be  the  character  of  some  of  them,  and  admit  may 
be  of  all;  and  (2)  that  they  aim  at  and  desire  just  our  position 
as  regards  the  State— no  establishment  of  any  kind.    My  own 

•[Brother  of  the  Bishop  of  Bath  and  Welle.] 


1875.]  BISHOP  WEITTINOHAM.  177 

unfitness  for  the  work  holds  me  back,  but  I  have  consented 

not  to  say  I  will  not  go All  here  love  you  as  ever. 

Your  loving  friend, 

W.  R.  Whittingham. 

The  following  touching  letter  from  Bishop  Whit- 
tingham was  written  in  reply  to  one  from  Bishop 
Kerfoot  telling  him  of  the  complete  breakdown  in 
Abel's  health  (the  young  presbyter,  in  his  enthusiasm, 
had  worked  far  beyond  his  strength)  and  expressing 
sympathy  with  Bishop  "Whittingham  in  a  great  and 
unexpected  blow  that  had  come  upon  him — the 
attempt  to  present  him  for  trial  as  a  breaker 
of  the  law !  Bishop  Whittingham,  old  and  feeble, 
was  under  great  depression  by  reason  of  this 
insult  to  his  fair  name,  for  so  he  could  not  help 
regarding  it.  How  this  lamentable  ebullition  of  theo- 
logical party-spirit  struck  fair-minded  churchmen  gen- 
erally may  be  pretty  conclusively  judged  from  an 
admirable  letter  from  Prof.  W.  J.  Seabury,  printed  in  ^'^'^J^-  '^• 
Dr.  Brand's  Life  (vol.  II,  p.  240) :  "  The  idea  that 
there  should  be  any  one  in  the  Church  who  could 
seriously  think  of  presenting  the  Bishop  of  Maryland 
for  trial  is  one  so  absolutely  revolting  to  me  that  I 
can  hardly  lielp  thinking  that  the  public  mention  of 
such  a  project  must  have  been  deeply  painful  even  to 
one  so  far  strengthened  and  elevated  by  the  conscious- 
ness of  faithfulness  to  right  principles  as  yourself." 
How  deeply  wounded  the  Bishop  was,  this  letter 
plainly  shows: 

The  Bishop  of  Maryland  to  the  Bishop  of  Pittsburgh. 

Baltimore,  July  24,  1875. 
My  very  dear  and  true  Friend  and  Brother., — Both  your  most  •■'■Trial"  o/Bp. 
kind  and  comforting  letters  reached  me  in  due  course.    The  ^''■'■^^"'O'lam. 


178 


LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.         [Chip.  VI. 


first  would  have  had  early  answer,  if  it  Imd  been  but  a  word 
of  acknowledgment,  but  the  story  of  your  own  troubles  took 
my  heart  away.  What  are  my  petty  trials  compared  to 
yours!  I  sometimes  am  afraid,  when  I  look  back  on  my 
seventy  years  and  see  how  little  heart-anguish  has  been 
allotted  me  in  comparison  of  those  assigned  to  others  on 
every  side,  lest  my  immunity  be  a  mark  of  misdesert.  I  know 
I  deserve  no  better  than  to  be  let  alone,  as  a  cake  half  dough, 
with  Ephraim,  and  am  sometimes  almost  envious  when  I  see 
an  almost  unbroken  series  of  afflictions  coming  on  those  whom 
I  believe  to  be  already  far  beyond  me  in  the  Christian  race, 
mellowing,  ripening,  purifying,  sanctifying  their  afl'ections  and 
desires,  their  inclinations,  thoughts  and  aspirations— mould- 
ing and  fashioning  them  daily  more  and  more  into  conformity 
with  the  blessed  will  of  Him  whose  wisdom  and  love  are 
never  so  fully  and  effectually  shown  as  in  the  cliastisement 
of  His  children. 

God  be  thanked  that  your  dear  A.  has  been  brought  home' 
to  enlighten  her  parents'  eyes  and  strengthen  the  dear  suf- 
ferer's knees  in  his  walk  through  the  valley  into  which  the 
Great  Shepherd  is  now  calling  him!  All  our  hearts  are  with 
you  all.  Surely  we  are  one  in  the  Heart  of  Him  who  hath 
loved  us  and  given  Himself  for  us,  that  in  His  love  we  might 
learn  to  know  what  true  love  is,  and  how  by  His  Spirit 
uniting  us  to  Him,  and  in  Him  to  one  another,  we  can  love 
with  a  love  that  knows  no  limits  or  hindrances  of  time  or 
space. 

I  am  here  awaiting  my  trial^  with  only  Mary  and  her  hus- 
band and  infant ;  Hannah,  Margaret  and  tlie  three  eldest 
Wilmer  grandchildren  being  at  the  old  house  in  Orange. 
Edward,  I  am  sorry  to  have  to  say,  is  in  very  indifferent 
health,  much  broken  by  the  arduousness  of  a  country  doctor's 


'  [Bp.  Kei-foot's  eldest  daugh- 
ter had  remained  some  months 
abroad,  after  accompanying  her 
father  to  the  Old  (Jatholic  Con- 
gress at  Bonn.] 

2  The  "trial,"  as  is  well  known, 


never  came:  the  preliminary 
court  of  enquiry  found  that  there 
was  not  e^en  prima  facie  ground 
for  making  any  presentment. 
See  Dr.  Brand's  very  interesting 
account,  Vol.  II,  Chap.  VII. 


1875.]  BISHOP  WHITTINQEAM.  179 

work.  The  rest  are  well.  Mary  sends  to  Mrs.  Kerfoot,  the 
girls  and  you,  her  heart's  love  and  warmest  sympathies. 
Give  dear  Abel  my  love  and  blessing.  Your  own  loving  and 
most  grateful  friend  and  brother, 

W.  R.  Whittingham. 

P.  S. — I  received  a  German  (O.  C.)  missive  similar  to 
yours,  and  am  glad  you  published  yours.  I  am  ashamed,  in 
my  present  position,  even  to  acknowledge  mine.  Everything 
in  that  movement  still  satisfies  my  fondest  expectations,  and 
seems  to  me  to  be  full  of  fairest  promise. 

W.  R.  W. 


CHAPTER  YIL 

THE  BURNING  OF  KEMP  HALL. 

1857. 

"  St.  James's  Hall "  had  long  since  become  "  The 
College  of  St.  James,"  with  a  grammar  school  attached 
to  it.  Several  new  buildings  had  been  erected,  and  one 
of  these,  a  small  out-building,  containing  rooms  for 
the  college  students,  was  regarded  as  so  far  preferable 
to  the  school-room  where  most  of  the  boys  had  desks, 
that  it  was  nicknamed  "  Paradise."  A  subsequent 
structure  of  like  dimensions  went  by  the  name  of 
"Purgatory,"  because  the  other  was  "Paradise." 
But  in  1851  a  new  and  large  brick  building  was 
built,  which  contained  the  dining-hall,  a  large  school- 
room, and  a  dormitory,  etc.,  and  in  this  building  the 
great  body  of  the  students  lived.  It  was  called 
"  Kemp  Hall,"  after  the  second  Bishop  of  Maryland, 
the  original  Ringgold  Mansion  being  henceforth 
known  as  "  Claggett  Hall,"  after  Maryland's  first 
bishop.  This  building  caught  on  fire  in  the  early 
morning  of  the  19th  of  January,  1857,  in  the  midst 
of  a  fearful  snow-storm,  and  in  a  very  few  min- 
utes was  entirely  consumed.  It  was  a  perilous  time, 
and  some  account  of  it  ought  to  be  given,  if  only  to 
show  Dr.  Kerfoot's  self-sacrificing  bravery  on  the 
occasion,  as  well  as  his  executive  ability  in  managing 
to  keep  the  College  together  afterwards.  For  this 
purpose  the  following  graphic  description  by  Bishop 


1857.]  THE  BURNING  OF  KEMP  HALL.  181 

Whittingham  will  answer  better  than  anything  else.  It 
shows  how  the  Bishop  could  write  when  his  feelings 
were  strongly  aroused.  He  thought  he  must  say 
something  to  stir  up  his  diocese  to  help  their  diocesan 
college  and  restore  what  was  lost.  He  sat  down  at 
his  table,  knowing  little  more  than  the  bare  fact  of  the 
fire  and  the  total  loss,  when,  to  his  delight,  a  letter 
from  St.  James's  was  handed  to  him.  It  was  simply 
a  home-letter  giving  an  account  of  the  fire,  and  out 
of  this  Bishop  Whittingham,  with  remarkable 
accuracy,  worked  up  this  interesting  narrative  of 
what  was  a  very  serious  calamity,  and  might  have 
proved  a  frightful  disaster. 

To  Hugh  Davcy  Evans,  LL.  2>.,  Editor  of  the  '■'■  Monitor. ^^ 

Baltimore,  Jan.  26,  1857. 

My  Dear  Friend, —  ....  Whoever  was  out  on  the  night 
of  Sunday,  the  18th,  will  never  forget  the  awful  rage  of  that 
wintry  storm.  In  a  degree  of  cold  almost  without  example, 
a  wind  only  less  than  a  hurricane  whirled  in  blinding  and  dis- 
tracting drifts  the  masses  of  snow  falling  more  heavily  than 
it  had  done  for  years. 

In  the  fiercest  bitterness  of  that  tempest,  in  the  deadest 
hour  of  night  or  early  morning,  the  Rector  of  St.  James's 
College  was  knocked  up,  with  the  call,  "  Sir,  Kemp  Hall's  on 
fire  !" 

Kemp  Hall,  though  not  the  original  building  of  the 
College,  has  been,  since  its  completion,  that  of  most  impor- 
tance, as  containing  the  largest  dormitory,  the  College 
study,  the  refectory  and  kitchen,  four  apartments  of 
instructors,  seamstress's  and  housekeeper's  and  servants' 

rooms,  and  pantry  and  storeroom,  kitchen,  etc.,  etc 

Sixty-five  students,  four  instructors  and  the  housekeeper, 
seamstress  and  several  servants  slept  in  the  building. 


182  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  EERFOOT.         [Chap,  VII. 

By  College  rules  a  watchman  makes  the  rounds  of  all  the 
buildings  every  hour,  a  part  of  his  duty  being  to  give  note  of 
his  watchfulness  by  striking  the  hour  on  the  great  bell  of 
Claggett  Hall.  He  had  done  so  at  tliree  o'clock,  having  just 
before  gone  round  Kemp  Hall,  seen  that  all  was  right,  and 
especially  visited  the  furnace,  and  found  it  safe  and  in  good 
order. 
Mginofthe  j^^^  twenty  minutes  past  three,  a  Prefect'  (member  of  the 
senior  class  in  College,  and  bookkeeper),  who  occupied  one 
of  the  south  rooms  on  the  ground  floor  of  Kemp  Hall,  felt 
oppressed  with  heat.  He  rose  in  bed  and  saw  flames  issuing 
from  the  flue  which  warmed  his  room.  Without  an  instant's 
delay,  to  put  on  a  single  article  of  clothing,  he  rushed  to  his 
door  and  up  the  stairs  to  the  room  of  Mr.  Coit  in  the  second 
floor.  "There's  a  fire  from  the  furnace,  sir!"  with  the 
instant  reply,  "  You  go  and  tell  the  Rector,  and  I'll  go  up  in 
the  dormitory  and  rouse  the  boys,"  was  all  that  passed  ;  and 
down  again  rushed  the  thoughtful  Prefect,  to  secure  a  lame 
youth  below,  who  would  be  unable  to  help  himself.'  With 
no  thought  of  dress,  he  seizes  the  lad,  night-clad,  as  he  was 
himself,  and  bears  him  in  his  arms,  through  snow  waist- 
deep,  across  the  College  lawn  to  the  Rectory,  at  once  to  save 
the  boy  and  bring  the  Rector  to  the  dreadful  post  of  duty. 
Providentially,  attendance  on  a  child  had  caused  Dr.  Kerfoot 
to  be  half  dressed,  and  in  less  time  than  it  takes  to  tell  it  he 
was  on  the  spot. 

Meanwhile,  Mr.  Coit  had  sprung  out  of  bed,  half  dressed 
(coat  under  arm,  and  shoes  on  stockingless  feet),  and  rushed 
with  a  light  into  the  dormitory  above.  "  Boys  all !  jump  up  ! 
each  wake  his  neighbor,  and  come  out !"  was  the  order 
shouted  in  his  loudest  tone.  The  dormitory-keeper,  "  a 
brave  and  energetic  fellow,"  says  the  graphic  letter-writer 
(himself  Prefect  of  another  hall)  from  whom  I  copy  most  of 
my  detail,  was  in  an  instant  up,  and  almost  as  soon  dressed 
and  ready.    It  was  no  light  task  to  quiet  and  calm  more  than 

I  [The  Rev.  John  Kerfoot  I  « [Lucian  Porter  Waddell,  neph- 
Lewis.]  I     ew  of  Maj. -Gen.  Fitzjohn Porter.] 


1857.]  THE  BURNING  OF  KEMP  HALL.  183 

threescore  lads  so  roused.  "There  was  great  danger  that 
the  boys  might  become  frantic  and  jump  out  at  the  windows 
or  throng  the  stairway ''  to  their  own  destruction.  (The 
College  story  is,  that  one  did,  cat-like,  descend  the  lightning- 
rod.  None  saw  him,  and  none  tried  to  follow  him.)  The 
Professor  and  the  Prefect  calmed  them,  rallied  them,  and 
detailed  them,  as  fast  as  possible,  without  endangering  each 
other's  lives,  down  the  only  stairway  to  the  outer  air. 

The  burning  flue  which  first  woke  the  prefect  in  the  lov^&v  The  stairway 
®  '■  becomes  tm- 

room  was  but  a  few  feet  from  the  hall  and  stairs.    The  smoke  passable. 
was  becoming  suffocating.   Smoke  and  flame  met  the  descend- 
ing boys  before  all  were  down ;  and  while  a  dozen  were  yet 
above,  with  the  instructors,  heat  and  smoke  turned  back  the 
uppermost,  and  descent  for  anj'^  more  became  impossible. 

Then  appeared  the  value  of  forecasting  wisdom.  When 
Kemp  Hall  was  built,  in  view  of  the  possibility  of  this  very 
contingency,  the  Rector  had  caused  at  the  upper  end  of  the 
dormitory  a  large  trap-door  to  be  constructed,  and  a  stout, 
sufficient  ladder  to  be  provided  for  keeping  in  the  dormitor}^ 
Never  once  used,  but  always  ready,  there  it  had  lain  until  the 
hour  for  which  it  had  been  made  came,  when  least  expected. 
In  the  study  beneath,  a  corresponding  trap-door  communicated 
with  the  refectory,  and  thence  through  the  kitchen,  out  of  the 
north  end  of  the  building,  with  the  open  air,  at  the  cor^ler 
remotest  from  the  fire. 

The  brave  Prefect  and  Professor  were  prepared  for  the 
emergency.  The  heavy  ladder  was  seized  and  i)laced,  and 
one  by  one  the  half-sufibcated  boys  were  sent  through  the 
trap-door  to  the  room  below.  All  were  down.  The  Professor 
was  just  putting  his  foot  on  the  topmost  round,  when  he 
heard  through  the  smoke  the  Redor^s  voice! 

All  this  had  taken  up  just  the  time  needful  for  Prefect /?r. /i^/oor* 
Lewis  with  his  burden  to  get  across  the  lawn,  and  bring  back  ^*'* 
the  ready  dressed  and  instantly  started  Rector.  Dr.  Kerfoot 
met  the  boys  thronging  out  of  Kemp  Hall  by  the  south  door, 
fire  and  smoke  bringing  up  their  rear.  Two,  on  the  very 
threshold,  reply  to  the  question,  "Are  the  boys  all  out?" 
"  No!  there  are  some  up  there  still."     Up  rushed  the  Rector 


184  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.        [Chap.  Vll. 

by  the  way  which  the  boys  had  found  impassable.  At  the 
second  story  fresh  volumes  of  smoke  and  flame  compel  him, 
for  a  moment,  to  recede.  But  he  thinks  of  his  charge,  and 
even  fire  cannot  keep  him  back.  Holding  his  breath,  he  bursts 
through  the  barrier  and  gropes  his  way  up  the  second  flight 
into  the  dormitory  door.  The  way  is  closed  behind  him,  but 
he  will  save  those  above,  or  die  with  them.  As  he  shouts  to 
them  through  the  murky  substance  which  shuts  out  all  power 
of  vision,  and  almost  transmission  of  sound,  the  well-known 
voice  catches  the  ear  of  Mr.  Coit  at  the  other  end.  He  stays 
his  descending  foot  on  the  ladder,  which  has  yet  to  be  used 
below  to  save  the  lives  of  all  there  gathered  and  his  own. 
He  turns  to  meet  the  Rector,  and  calls  out,  "They  are  all 
out,  sir!"  "Let  us  go  round  and  look  in  every  alcove,"  is 
the  reply.  They  join,  and  carrying  the  Professor's  light,  look 
(or  rather  feel,  for  the  dense  smoke  renders  the  light  useful 
only  to  make  darkness  visible)  in  every  several  alcove  on 
each  side  of  the  long  apartment.  It  was  at  the  imminent 
peril  of  life  to  both,  for,  had  the  light  gone  out,  the  over- 
powering, choking,  bewildering  smoke  would  have  made  it 
hardly  within  the  bounds  of  possibility  that  they  should  have 
found  their  way  back  to  the  ladder  by  which  they  and  all 
below  were  yet  to  be  saved  from  the  burning  building. 

God  mercifully  preserved  them.  Certain  that  every  boy 
was  out,  they  crawled  back  to  the  trai>door,  and  both  went 
down — the  Rector  the  last  to  leave  the  room.  The  next 
trap-door  was  to  be  opened,  and  way  found,  through  the 
momently  increasing  smoke  and  heat,  out  of  the  kitchen  and 
northern  door.  It  took  less  time  to  do  it  than  it  would  take 
me  to  tell  it.  At  the  bottom  of  the  ladder  in  the  lower  story, 
the  Professor  and  boys  once  safe,  the  Rector  hurries,  light  in 
hand,  to  the  housekeeper's  and  seamstress'  rooms.  They  are 
roused  and  saved,  but  without  even  a  second  dress.  Neither 
life  nor  limb  is  lost ;  but  all  besides  is  gone. 
Bev.J.M.  But  was  all  life  preserved?  There  were  two  instructors' 
Dashidi.  x-ooms.  How  the  occupant  of  one  used  his  time  I  have  been 
telling  you.  Opposite  Mr.  Colt's  apartment,  on  the  second 
story,  was  that  of  Professor  Dashiell.    Where  was  he  ?    It 


1857.]  THE  BURNING  OF  KEMP  HALL.  185 

was  the  Rector's  next  thouglit  after  the  deliverance  of  the 
others.  Rushing  round,  he  asks  of  the  excited,  trembling 
crowd,  "Is  Mr.  Dashiellout?  Is  Mr.  Dashiell  out?"  The}' 
know  nothing  of  him.  "  Great  God !  we  mustn't  leave  him!" 
and  a  rush  once  more  to  the  burning  door  and  stairway  are 
the  word  and  deed  that  follow,  without  a  second's  hesitation. 
But  Messrs.  Mills  and  Harrison  are  ready  with  a  ladder,  if 
need  be,  to  enter  Mr.  Dashiell's  room  from  without,  on  the 
side  where  the  Are  has  as  yet  made  least  headway.  Mean- 
while he  appears.    He  is  safe. 

At  the  same  moment  that  Mr.  Lewis  was  awakened  by 
flame  bursting  through  liis  flue,  a  sense  of  smoke  in  his  room 
aroused  Mr.  Dashiell  in  the  story  above.  That  something 
was  terribly  wrong  about  the  furnace  was  his  instant  impres- 
sion ;  and  his  action,  as  instant,  to  get  up  to  right  it.  In 
drawers  and  boots  he  rushes  out  to  do  so,  and  on  the  stairs 
meets  Mr.  Coit  on  his  way  to  the  dormitory.  "  What's  the 
matter?"  "Fire  from  the  furnace!"  is  tl)e  only  greeting ; 
and  each  holds  on  his  way.  Straight  to  the  furnace  the  Pro- 
fessor went,  but  could  not  get  in.  Presently  the  watchman's 
help  enabled  him  to  open  the  furnace-room,  but  the  raging 
fire  burst  out  in  volumes  that  forbade  the  attempt  to  enter  or 
slightest  hope  of  saving  anything 

Think  of  the  position  of  men  left  in  that  condition,  with 
nearly  a  hundred  college  pupils  to  provide  for,  and  all  means, 
and  almost  all  accommodation,  for  the  moment,  gone,  and 
in  such  fearful  weather !  Food  was  to  be  at  once  provided. 
The  slender  means  of  the  Rector's  and  Vice-Rector's  houses 
must  furnish  it.  They  did.  Such  as  could  be  prepared  was 
instantly  made  ready.  Succedaneums  for  coats  and  boots, 
and  begged  or  borrowed  under-clothing,  were  arranged  for. 
Expedients  of  every  kind,  for  everytliing,  were  thought  of, 
suggested,  tried. 

A  faculty  meeting,  held  at  once,  came  to  the  brave  deter-  '■^Etgvlar  work 
mination    to    hold   "right    onward."      "Regular  work    to.<^-Tnorrow:' 
morrow  "  was  the  announcement  before  the  fire  had  ceased 
to  burn.     "  We  will  do  as  we  did  before  we  had  Kemp  Hall," 
was  the  answer  to  all  despondent  inquiries. 


186  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.       [Chap.  VII. 

"How  is  it  possible  that  we  can  ever  get  along?"  Ah!  a 
six-foot  adult  of  thirty  might  almost  as  easily  do  with  his 
jacket  and  trousers  of  sixteen.  Most  painful  and  wearisome 
strife  with  difficulty  must  those  stout-hearted  men  and  brave 
youths  have  gone  through  in  the  last  fearful  week !  With  all 
conveniences  and  appliances,  who  has  not  found  it  hard 
enough  to  go  on  in  weather  that  has  broken  up  social  life  and 
intercourse  over  the  whole  face  of  our  country  to  an  extent 
unknown  for  many  a  year  ?  Two  whole  days  were  consumed 
in  fruitless  endeavors  even  to  make  known  their  destitute 
condition.  On  Monday  three  stout  men  could  accomplish  only 
one  mile  of  travel  in  any  direction.  On  Tuesday  six  men 
with  teams  broke  through  in  five  hours  to  Hagerstown,  and 
brought  out  "a  tailor,  a  shoemaker,  and  some  other  neces- 
saries of  life." 

In  the  interim,  "the  Rector,''  says  one  of  the  accounts, 
"  is  cook,  waiter  and  general  policeman — on  his  legs  all  day, 
and  good  part  of  the  night."  That  he  was  chaplain,  too,  and 
the  genial  pastor  and  spiritual  teacher  that  he  always  is, 
shows  itself  in  the  same  letter-writer's  notes  of  the  "chapel- 
talk"  at  the  first  service  after  the  fire  on  Monday.  "To 
thank  God  for  all  His  mercies''  was  the  burden  of  the 
Rector's  exhortations.  "  What !  thank  Him  for  burning  our 
house  down  ?  Yes !  thank  Hini  for  that,  too ;  and  be  sure 
that  there  was  mercy  behind  it  all,  and  that  God  was 
afflicting  them  not  in  wrath,  but  in  tender  looeV 

No  doubt  of  it !  And  that  love  shows  itself  directly  in 
calling  out  the  manly  virtues  and  Christian  graces  for  which 
its  visitation  has  afl'orded  such  ample  scope  ;  and  in  the  whole- 
some discipline  of  mind  and  character  for  which  such  an 
event,  with  all  its  accompaniments  and  consequences,  gives 
occasion  and  opportunit3\  At  such  a  time,  years  of  experience 
and  mental  growth  may  be  condensed  into  one  hour.  Im- 
pulses may  be  felt  and  warnings  taken  and  tendencies  given 
in  a  right  direction,  for  which  "the  man,"  of  whom  "  tlie  boy 
is  father,"  shall  be  nobler  and  better  through  all  his  life;  and 
seed  sown  in  time  which  shall  blossom  and  bear  fruit  through- 
out eternity 


1857.]  THE  BURNING  OF  KEMP  HALL.  187 

The  Bishop  concluded  with  an  indignant  reproach 
and  a  glowing  appeal  to  the  diocese  to  come  to  the 
rescue,  and  do  more  for  its  college  than  it  had  ever 
done  before.  His  appeal  was  successful.  Great  inter- 
est was  aroused  not  only  in  Baltimore,  but  in  Phila- 
delphia, and  it  was  determined  to  make  the  College 
more  accessible  to  both  those  cities  by  removing  it  to 
a  new  and  very  fine  site,  about  twenty  miles  from 
Baltimore,  on  the  Northern  Central  Eailway.     '^\q,ti?,  ^.(^f^oj  to  Bau 

'  _  ''  timore  County. 

were  dra-^Ti  by  Mr.  Condit  of  New  Jersey,  large  sums 
were  subscribed,  and  the  buildings  were  actually 
begun  and  partially  erected  when  the  civil  war  came, 
blighting  all  these  hopes  and  bringing  all  these  prom- 
ising preparations  for  more  extended  usefulness,  and 
a  longer  life,  to  an  untimely  end.  The  property  still 
belongs  to  the  corporation  of  the  trustees,  and  there 
the  partly  finished  buildings  still  remain — a  neglected 
ruin,  but  destined  to  be  completed,  let  us  hope,  at 
some  future  day,  and  to  fulfil  the  bright  expectations 
expressed  by  Bishop  Whittingham  and  Dr.  Kerfoot 
when  the  corner-stone  was  joyfully  laid  in  the  autumn 
of  I860.' 


'  Things  have  greatly  changed 
in  Washington  County,  Mary- 
land, since  1857,  -when  the  remo- 
Tal  of  the  College  was  first 
proposed.  Hagerstown,  situated 
in  a  charming  mountainous 
countrj',  is  now  a  great  railroad 
centre,  and  a  thriving  place  of 
business.  A  i-ailroad  runs  within 
an  eighth  of  a  mile  from  "  Foun- 
tain Rock"  itself,  which,  from 
being  one  of  the  most  remote, 
has  now  become  one  of  the  most 
accessible  points  in  the  whole  I  they  have  been  sent. 
State  of  Maryland.    At  the  beau-    I 


tiful  old  site,  an  able  teacher, 
Mr.  Henry  Oudcrdonk,  son  of  the 
late  Bishop  H.  U.  Onderdouk,  has 
for  several  years,  with  too  little 
encouragement  from  churchmen, 
endeavored  to  revive  the  Gram- 
mar School  of  the  College  of  St. 
James.  His  school  is  an  excel- 
lent one,  as  is  proved  by  the  warm 
attachment  of  his  old  boys  to  the 
principal,  and  by  the  good  rank 
which  his  scholars  have  attained 
in  the  various  colleges  to  which 


CHAPTER  YIII. 

BREAKING    OUT   OF   THE  CIVIL   WAR. 
1860-1861.    Aetat.  44-45. 

The  secession  of  South  Carolina,  followed  by  the 
desolating  civil  war,  had  an  immediate  effect  upon 
the  fortunes  of  St.  James's.  Those  who  at  that  time 
resided  far  away  from  the  actual  battlefields,  or  where 
people  were  all  of  one  way  of  thinking,  can  hardly 
realize  the  scene  of  turmoil,  debate,  anxiety,  uncer- 
tainty, in  which  the  inhabitants  of  a  border  State  like 
Maryland  were  compelled  to  live  from  day  to  day. 
Friends  and  families  were  torn  asunder,  and  scarcely 
anything  was  thought  of  or  mentioned  but  the  ex- 
citing topics  of  the  time,  the  successes  and  reverses  of 
the  two  opposing  armies,  or  the  fate  of  friends  and 
relatives  on  one  side  or  the  other  in  the  dreadful  war 
that  was  going  on.  All  educational  enterprises,  all 
charitable  institutions  and  churches,  at  once  felt  the 
"hard  times."  Schools  and  colleges  not  already  well 
endowed  found  it  difficult  to  maintain  themselves. 
St.  James's  College,  which  drew  almost  all  its  students 
from  Maryland  and  the  other  Southern  States,  and 
which  was  then,  with  every  prospect  of  success,  solicit- 
ing funds  for  its  new  buildings  in  Baltimore  County, 
was  one  of  the  first  institutions  to  suffer,  though  the 
Rector  and  his  associates  did  not  give  up  until  after  a 
brave  and  severe  struggle. 


1861.]       BREAKING  OUT  OF  THE  CIVIL  WAR.        189 

Many  of  the  friends  of  the  college  in  Maryland /^[;^j^^''^'„^ 
were  enthusiastic  supporters  of  the  Southern  Confed- . 
eracy,  and  they  would  no  doubt  have  been  greatly 
pleased  if  Bishop  Whittingham  and  Dr.  Kerfoot  could 
at  least  have  s}Tnpathized  with  the  Southern  move- 
ment. But  this  Dr.  Kerfoot  (like  Bishop  Whitting- 
ham) was  unable  conscientiously  to  do.  He  was  from 
the  first,  without  any  misgiving,  opposed  to  "  seces- 
sion ";  he  was  what  was  called  a  decided  "  Union  man." 
His  convictions  were  against  the  doctrine  of  secession 
as,  in  his  judgment,  without  warrant  under  the  Consti- 
tution, and  as  a  mischievous  remedy  likely  to  produce 
worse  evils  than  its  promoters  sought  to  remove.  Not 
only  did  he  deem  it  better  to 

Bear  those  ills  we  have, 
Than  fly  to  others  that  we  know  not  of, 

but  he  thought  that  the  secession  of  any  State  from 
the  Union  without  the  consent  of  the  sister  States  was 
equivalent  to  revolution  or  "  rebellion,"  which  soon 
became  the  popular  term  throughout  the  North.  Such 
secession,  he  thought,  could  be  justified  or  entertained 
only  as  those  exceptional  remedies  for  oppression 
might  sometimes  be  justified.  As  the  war  went  on, 
and  men  were  compelled  by  the  march  of  events  to 
become  more  pronounced  in  their  views  on  one  side  or 
the  other,  the  difl*erence  of  political  sentiment  between 
the  Rector  and  some  of  the  trustees  of  the  college 
became  more  and  more  marked.  The  relations  between 
them  had  always  been  particularly  friendly  and  inti- 
mate. Especially  was  this  true  of  the  intercourse 
between  Dr.  Kerfoot  and  Mr.  William  G.  Harrison,  of 
Baltimore,  one  of  the  earliest  and   warmest  of  the 


190  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.        [Chap.  VIII. 

friends  of  St.  James's.  It  was  natural  that  the  two 
friends,  who  had  kept  np  frequent  correspondence  for 
more  than  fifteen  years,  should  wish  that  they  could 
think  and  act  in  harmony  in  the  great  crisis  that  was 
impending.  Several  earnest  letters  passed  between 
them  in  1861,  in  which  each  endeavored  to  explain 
his  views  and  convince  the  other.  But  this  harmony 
was  not  to  be.  On  this  question  their  sentiments  and 
sense  of  duty  proved  irreconcilable,  though  the  real 
friendship  and  entire  respect  of  each  for  the  other  was 
too  deeply  rooted  for  any  difiierence  of  this  kind 
seriously  to  interfere  with  it.  The  old  perfect  freedom 
of  intercourse  was  to  some  extent  temporarily  inter- 
rupted, but  this  was  only  the  natural  and  inevitable 
consequence  of  the  excitement  of  those  sad  and  trying 
times. 
BiffieuUies.  But  the  most  serious  difiiculty  in  the  way  of  the 
College  of  St.  James  was  that  the  majority  of  its 
students  came  from  the  South,  and  the  war  at  once 
cut  oif  the  main  source  of  supply.  The  result  was 
that,  after  three  years  of  patient  struggle  (during  part 
of  which  Dr.  Kerfoot  and  his  coadjutors  served  with 
little  or  no  remuneration  and  under  difficulties  which 
no  description  can  easily  exaggerate),  the  attempt  to 
continue  the  college  was  necessarily  abandoned.  Two 
great  battlefields — Antietam  and  Gettysburg — were 
only  a  few  miles  distant  from  the  site  of  the  institu- 
tion; soldiers  of  both  armies  passed  and  repassed  over 
the  play-grounds,  and  Chambersburg,  burnt  by  Gen. 
Early  in  1864,  as  an  act  of  retaliation,  was  only  some 
twenty  miles  across  the  border  in  Pennsylvania. 
"What,  however,  caused  an  instant  decision  and  com- 


18G1.]  WM.  G.  HARRISON.  191 

pelled  the  abrupt  closing  of  the  college  was  the  arrest 
of  Dr.  Kerfoot  and  of  his  friend  and  associate,  the 
Rev.  Joseph  H.  Coit,  Professor  of  Natural  Science 
and  Mathematics,  by  Gen.  Early  in  the  summer  of 
1864,  of  which  some  account  will  be  given  later  on. 

The  opinions  of  Dr.  Kerfoot  on  some  of  the  absorbing 
political  questions  of  the  day  will  be  easily  gathered 
from  the  correspondence  that  follows.  The  extracts 
from  his  diaries,  too,  in  this  and  the  following  chapters, 
will  give  some  idea  of  the  dangers  and  excitements  of 
the  time,  as  they  were  noted  by  an  observer  of  excep- 
tional intelligence  and  honesty,  on  the  very  spot  where 
some  of  the  most  interesting  and  famous  events  of  the 
war  took  place.  A  few  quotations  from  the  letters  of 
his  friend,  Mr.  W.  G.  Harrison,  will  show  both  the 
intimacy  of  their  friendship  and  the  views  widely 
entertained  by  Southern  men,  from  which  Dr.  Kerfoot, 
after  careful  and  even  painful  consideration,  felt 
obliged  to  dissent.  Both  correspondents  were  men  of 
strong  character,  of  great  acuteness  and  of  inflexible 
honesty ;  each  was  equally  incapable  of  the  slightest 
disguise — especially  on  questions  the  roots  of  which 
lie  deep  down  in  the  bottom  of  the  heart.  Their 
correspondence  affords  another  proof  that,  whatever 
else  may  happen,  men  of  such  sincerity  and  fearless- 
ness never  misunderstand,  and  need  never  cease  to 
respect,  one  another. 

Correspondence. 
W.  G.  Harrison,  Esq.,  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Kerfoot. 

Baltimore,  Jan.  3,  1861. 
My  Dear  Friend, — Your  letter  of  the  2d  is  this  evening 
before  me.     In  reply  I  must  repeat  what  we  have  often 


192  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.         [Chap.  VIII. 

Eemovai^SL  expressed  together,  that  the  effort  making  is  one,  we  trust, 
tinwre.  under  God's  guidance,  and  in  trust  in  Him  we  must  go  on 

with  it  through  good  and  bad  times.  If  we  wait  for  the  appear- 
ance of  plenty  we  shall  never  make  progress.  Already  have 
we  had  full  experience ;  our  earliest  efforts  were  delayed 
by  the  counsel  of  those  who  thought  the  times  were  bad  to 
begin  in.  We  lingered,  and  at  last  started  in  bad  times. 
Now,  I  do  say,  go  on  through  bad  times  and  we  shall  find 
good  times  at  the  other  side,  and  our  work  finished  to  receive 
the  welcome  guest.  What  you  get  [in  the  way  of  subscription 
towards  the  new  buildings,  etc.]  will  be  earnest  of  more,  and 
we  must  go  over  the  field  again  and  again  in  the  unfaltering 
faith  of  the  widow  who  ever  found  her  daily  meal  in  tlie 
barrel,  and  was  thankful  without  surmising  if  next  day  there 
would  be  found  a  larger  supply. 
Most  heartily  are  your  kind  wishes  reciprocated  by    all 

here 

'^'umk^^^'^^     ■"■  ^^^^6  sti*ong  trust  in  God's  guidance  in  our  political  storm 

now    raging To-night    I    heard    of  Mr.  Douglas's 

speech  in  the  Senate,  and  think  it  will  tell  favorably.  He 
has  decidedly  committed  himself  to  peace.  He  waived  all 
considerations  of  secession,  etc.,  and  applied  himself  to  facts. 
South  Carolina,  he  believed,  throughout  its  borders  had 
decided  to  withdraw,  and  had  done  so,  and  was  now  as  much 
a  government  de  facto  as  any  other  in  the  world ;  certainly 
as  much  so  as  Lamartiue's  government  of  France,  which,  at 
three  days  old,  was  recognized  by  the  U.  S.  of  America  as  a 
government.  Why  should  Carolina  be  ignored?  He  asked 
the  Senate,  were  they  prepared  for  war,  if  in  a  few  days 
seven  more  States  should  retire,  and,  in  a  few  moi'e,  seven 
others  should  be  added  to  their  number?  Prepared,  he  said, 
not  in  materials  of  men  and  money  and  munition,  but  could 
they  lay  their  hands  on  their  hearts  and  say  they  were  ready 
io  fight  their  brothers  1  It  must  be  a  war  of  conquest,  if  under- 
taken, not  a  war  for  union,  etc. 

I  trust  the  effect  of  the  speech  will  be  felt  at  the  White 
House,  where  new  counsellors  are  urging  coercion  upon 
the  President  [Buchanan]  and  he  is  yielding  to  the   evil 


1861.]  WM.  G.  HARRISON.  193 

suggestions.  As  to  forcing  South  Carolina  to  return  and 
submit,  it  is  as  idle  and  wicked  an  idea  as  ever  was  dis- 
tilled by  the  devil,  and  if  attempted,  every  State  south  of 
Mason  and  Dixon's  line  will  instantly  start,  and  every 
fort,  etc.,  will  be  seized,  and  reconciliation  become  imprac- 
ticable. The  only  fear  now  is  that  the  North  has  pressed 
too  far  already,  and  the  miserable  dallying  between  two 
opinions  by  tlie  border  States  will  nullify  their  influence  when 
they  do  join.  Had  the  secession  been  simultaneous,  the 
trouble  would  have  passed  in  two  months. 

I  did  not  intend  to  inflict  so  much  pohtical  talk,  but  you 
will  have  patience  with  me,  I  am  sure. 

If  Mr.  Benjamin's  speech  is  published  in  extenso,  I  shall 
send  you  a  copy,  which  I  trust  you  will  read.    I  have  heard 
from  those  present  tliat  it  was  electric  upon  the  audience.  .  .  . 
Aflectionately  your  friend, 

Wm.  G.  Habrison. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Kerfoot  to  Wm.  G.  Harrison^  Esq. 

Jan.  5,  1861. 
My  Dear  Friend,—!  wrote  a  few  days  ago  to  ask  you  how  opposes 
far  the  present  tlireatening  state  of  adairs  may  or  must  attect  **"''**'^*' 
my  etibrts  [for  the  new  college  in  Baltimore  County].  The 
sky  grows  darker.  Perliaps  God  in  His  mercy  may  hear  our 
prayers  and  scatter  the  clouds.  A  war  would  postpone  all 
our  movements  in  the  new  college,  and  probably  cripple  our 
old  one  sorely.  We  must  only  pray,  trust  and  wait.  Love 
and  mutual  confidence,  growing  out  of  Gospel  faith  and  duty, 
must  lessen  the  difficulties  of  honest  men  now.  My  own 
reflections  settle  me  down,  more  and  more  conclusively, 
against  any  secession.  My  oath  [his  naturalization  oatb] 
binds  me  to  the  National  Government.  No  contingencies  or 
conditions  entered  into  its  terms  and  promises.  '1  he  authority 
of  that  Government  seems  to  me  God's  ordinance,  bubordi- 
natiug  10  itself  all  State  and  other  autliorities.  Revolution 
may  become  a  duty,  but  only  in  case  of  wrongs  so  extreme 
as  to  absolve  allegiance,  and  make  resistance  a  duty  to  God. 


194  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.      [Chap.  VIII. 

His  absolution  of  my  oath,  as  my  conscience  slowly  and 
reverently  decides  the  fact— that,  and  nothing  less,  can  annul 
my  obligation.  No  such  wrong,  nor  any  such  absolution,  yet 
appears  to  my  judgment  and  conscience.  I  cannot  concur 
in  the  views  and  convictions  of  those  who  think  that  result 
now  reached — or  near.  But  I,  of  course,  know  that  many 
better  and  wiser  than  myself  view  their  oaths  as  conditional, 
and  their  conditions  as  now  broken,  and  their  allegiance  due 
to  their  "  State,"  not  to  the  "  U.  S.'';  and  though  I  difler  in 
those  opinions,  I  nevertheless  revere  and  trust  the  men. 

I  trust  Maryland  will  not  secede.  If  she  do.  Providence  has 
given  me  my  work  here,  and  I  can  and  will  do  it,  quietly,  as 
a  minister  of  Christ  may,  and  I  will  obey  the  government  de 
facto  that  is  over  me,  trusting  that  in  time  my  allegiance  in 
heart  and  conscience  may  go  where  submission  is  given. 
My  attachments  to  Maryland  are  very  warm  and  deep.  My 
dearest  friends  are  among  her  people.  My  wife  and  children 
are  devoted  in  their  preference  for  her  and  her  people.  I 
should  never,  now,  I  think,  be  "  a^  home  "  anywhere  else.  I 
should  be  well  content,  if  God  decrees  the  shattering  of  our 
confederacy,  to  see  Maryland  go  with  the  South ;  though  I 
should  prefer  then  a  middle  confederac}'.  I  foresee  only  one 
possible  bar  to  my  conscience — the  reopening  of  the  African 
slave  trade.  I  am  convinced  that  that  is  one  of  the  ends 
sought  by  extreme  men  South.  I  think  they  will  be  thwarted. 
I  fully  believe  that  such  an  enactment  would  compel  me,  and 
not  a  few  besides,  to  withdraw  from  any  State  or  nation 
responsible  or  consenting.  I  really  meant  only  to  write  a 
line  or  two,  but  heart  and  head  are  full  just  now.  It  is  a  sad, 
sore  trial  to  me  to  see  my  adopted  nation  (I  took  my  natu- 
ralization oath  twenty-four  years  ago)  thus  dashing  to  pieces  on 
the  rocks  which  infidel  and  lawless  abolitionism  and  disloyal, 
hasty  anger  and  terror  have  cast  into  her  pathway.  May 
our  God  save  her  yet,  and  pity  and  convert  all  who  sin 
against  Him  and  His  earthly  ordinances !  Truly  and  lovingly 
your  friend, 

J.  B.  Kebfoot. 


1861.]  Fi¥.  G.  HARRISON.  195 

Wm.  G.  Harrison,  Esq.,  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Ktrfoot. 

Baltimore,  January  8,  1861. 

My  Dear  Friend, — Your  letter  of  the  5tli  is  this  Qy^mng  Reply  to  the 
before  iBe,  enclosing  Mr.  Schoenberger's  check  for  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  dollars 

I  wish  myself  at  your  side  to  talk  over  the  political  view 
you  have  expressed  of  the  existing  disturbances  and  the 
General  Government.  I  am  not  a  good  hand  at  expressing 
myself  on  paper ;  at  least  I  cannot  satisfy  myself.  But  I 
must  try  to  urge  my  view  upon  your  consideration 

The  General  Government  is  a  compact  of  power  delegated 
by  sovereign,  equal,  free  and  separate  iStates,  confirmed  by  the 
people  of  the  several  States  for  mutual  protection,  and  in 
order  to  form  a  more  perfect  union,  establish  justice,  insure 
domestic  tranquillity,  provide  for  the  common  defence,  pro- 
mote general  welfare,  and  secure  the  blessings  of  liberty  to 
ourselves  and  posterity.  Now,  can  there  be  a  doubt  that  if 
this  compact  is  converted  into  an  instrument  of  oppression, 
domestic  tranquillity  destroyed,  justice  denied,  and  if  this  fact 
stands  out  by  repeated  overt  acts,  the  parties  to  the  com- 
pact are  justified  before  the  Judge  of  all  men  in  withdraw- 
ing from  those  who  would  oppress  them,  rather  than  begin  a 
civil  war  for  their  rights  ?  On  whom  will  the  sin  of  war  rest, 
if  not  on  those  who  are  determined  to  force  submission  to 
their  tyranny  ? 

That  the  South  has  ever  asked,  or  now  demands,  further 
than  the  faithful  compliance  with  the  letter  of  the  compact 
and  the  decrees  of  the  Supreme  Court,  cannot  truthfully  be 
averred.  That  the  reopening  of  the  slave  trade  is  at  the  base 
of  the  Southern  movement  is  a  calumny  hardly  worth  notice, 
but  that  it  has  poisoned  your  mind.  It  is  a  base  slander 
issued  by  the  abolitionists  and  their  tools.  The  folly  of 
attempting  it,  in  the  face  of  the  maritime  power  of  Europe, 
by  a  people  who  scarcely  own  a  ship,  and  who  are  purposing 
to  establish  themselves  in  treaties  of  commerce  with  Cliria- 
tendom,  should  alone  be  a  sutflcient  refutation.  .  .  . 

A  Marylander  born,  I  owe  my  first  allegiance  to  her.    I  am 


196  LIFE  OF  BISEOP  KERFOOT.        [Chap.  VIII. 

The  Southern  bound  to  the  compact  firmly,  for  the  purposes  my  forefathers 
situation,  estabhshed  it,  so  long  as  it  is  faithfully  observed  by  all.  But 
when  a  majority  of  the  partners  convert  it  to  the  means  of 
oppression  and  threaten  to  destroy  the  liberty,  property  and 
peace  of  the  minority,  it  is  a  Christian  duty,  after  patient  for- 
bearance and  long  sufiering  (which  the  last  forty  years  estab- 
lishes on  the  part  of  the  minority),  to  demand  a  peaceable 
separation,  and,  if  denied,  separate  at  all  hazards,  and  defend 
themselves,  if  need  be,  when  attacked. 

....  The  States  have  agreed  not  to  make  compacts  with 
each  other  lohile  working  under  the  Constitution  or  compact ; 
therefore,  to  retire  from  the  broken  and  violated  agreement 
and  reform  is  the  on-ly  alternative  to  submission,  servile  war, 

and  all  its  train  of  horrors,  and  loss  of  civil  liberty 

Could  the  movement  of  secession  have  been  simultaneous, 
the  afl'air  would  have  been  in  the  way  of  adjustment  by  this 
time.  But,  unfortunately,  the  border  States  especially  have 
been  under  "know-nothing  "  sway  for  several  years  and  are 
in  a  drugged  condition.    But  I  trust  they  are  awakening. 

This  threat  of  coercion  is  arousing  them Moreover, 

it  is  arousing  the  people  of  the  North  and  Northwest,  aud 
you  will  find  that  the  coercion  party  will  be  thrown  over  and 
the  people  of  tlie  North  will  yield  every  just  demand,  aud 
none  other  will  be  put  forth. 

I  undei-staud  the  greater  delicacy  of  your  position  as  a 
naturalized  citizen.  I  believe  the  oath  is  tliat  you  will  "  sup- 
port the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.''  You  tlierefore 
cannot  side  wiih  those  who  violate  it  and  resist  the  decrees 
of  the  United  Slates  Supreme  Court  (whether  you  coincide 
with  the  reasoning  of  the  judges  of  the  court  or  not) ;  it  is 
the  law,  aud  ^ou  must  support  the  decree.  You  cannot  lind 
any  law  under  the  Constitution  that  will  warrant  you  to  urge 
war  upon  any  Slate  to  force  her  to  remain  in  the  Union.  .  .  . 
Secession  is  not  revolution ;  revolt  is  an  action  between 
dependents  and  superiors,  not  between  equals.  Secession  is 
an  action  between  equals — a  drawing  oti"  for  proper  causes 
(such  as  a  violated  compact  made  by  equals)  from  an  agree- 


1861.]  WM.  G.  HARRISON.  197 

ment ;  it  is  a  peaceful  remedy,  and  in  this  instance,  so  far, 
has  been  peacefully  done. 

I  do  not  hold  secession  a  rightful  remedy  at  will.,  but  only 
for  causes  good  and  suflBcient.  I  think  to  knock  a  man  down 
wilful!}',  a  sin  ;  but  if  he  were  to  attack  me.  put  my  peace  and 
the  safety  of  my  family  at  hazard,  I  should  be  justifled  (being 
unequal  in  strength  to  him)  in  using  a  weapon,  even  at  the 
risk  of  killing  him 

To  sum  up :  I  consider,  honestly,  the  religious  and  civil 
liberty  of  the  Southern  States  in  danger  from  the  Xorth,  and 
that  the  struggle  now  going  on  is  for  religion  and  our  hearth- 
stones ;  and  if  the  begun  aggression  is  not  stayed,  we  of  the 
South  may  bid  adieu  to  peace  and  happiness,  truth  and  justice, 
relision  and  piety,  and  we  had  better  seek  a  new  country. 

Maryland  will  follow  Virginia  beyond  a  doubt.  I  grieve  to 
think  she  follows.     Virginia  will  secede  before  the  month 

passes ;  earlier  if  coercion  be  the  tune I  fear  I  have 

tired  you,  but  will  add  that  if  you  find  any  justification  for 
the  Revolution  of  1776,  the  secession  of  1860  has  tenfold 
claims  to  it. 

Love  to  your  wife  and  children  from  all  around  me,  and 

read  me  as  your  afl'ectionate  friend, 

Wm.  G.  Harbison. 

Dr.  Kerfoot's  reply  to  this  letter  and  one  more  of 
Mr.  Harrison's  will  be  given  a  few  pages  later  on. 
Several  other  letters,  very  earnest,  bnt  always  affec- 
tionate, passed  between  the  two  friends,  and  then, 
finding  it  best  to  agree  to  differ,  they  let  the  subject 
drop  from  their  correspondence,  which  after  tliis  was 
occupied  with  family  matters  and  the  business  affairs 
of  the  College.  These  speedily  became  involved  in 
difficulty  and  required  the  most  prudent  economy. 
The  friendly  relations  between  the  families  continued, 
notwithstanding  the  wide  and  increasing  divergence 
of  political  sentiment. 


198  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.         [Chap.  VTII. 

Meaatime  another  event  had  occurred  which  caused 
no  small  discussion  and  division  of  opinion  throughout 
the  State  of  Maryland. 

S--'S/      On  the   3d  of  January  of  this   year  (1861)   Gov. 

Gov.  Hicks.  Hicks,  of  Maryland,  published  an  address  to  the  people 
of  the  State,  designed  to  justify  his  refusal  to  call  a 
special  session  of  the  Legislature,  and  deprecating  any 
movement  looking  towards  the  secession  of  Maryland 
from  the  Union.  On  the  9th  of  January  Bishop 
Whittingham  wrote  a  private  letter  to  the  Governor 
warmly  thanking  him  for  his  address.  The  Bishop 
said  that  his  travels  over  the  State  on  episcopal  visita- 
tions led  him  to  believe  that  the  most  "respectable 
and  influential  men "  agreed  with  the  sentiments 
expressed  by  the  Governor.  This  letter,  which  was 
soon  published  with  the  Bishop's  consent,  created  a 
great  sensation  and  much  adverse  comment  in  the 
Diocese.  Hitherto  the  Bishop  had  carefully  abstained 
from  anything  that  could  be  called  political  speech  or 
action  ;  until  these  critical  times,  he  had  even  forborne 
to  exercise  his  right  to  vote  (a  point  upon  which  Dr. 
Kerfoot  did  not  at  all  agree  with  his  Bishop).  When, 
therefore,  he  came  out  with  this  strong  letter  upon  a 
subject  on  which  public  sentiment  in  his  Diocese 
was  so  fiercely  divided,  it  was  a  great  surprise  to 
everybody.  The  untenable  ground  was  taken,  by 
some  who  did  not  like  the  sentiments  expressed,  that 
because  the  writer  was  Bishop,  he  could  not  properly, 
as  a  citizen,  utter  his  views  publicly  on  matters  of 
grave  political  concern.  Bishop  Whittingham  ably 
defended  himself,  and  stated  the  grounds  of  his  un- 
usual   action   in  a  letter  to   his   friend   Dr.  Kerfoot, 


1861.]  GOVERNOR  HICKS.  199 

which  will  be  found  on  the  39th  page  of  Dr.  Brand's 
second  volume.  The  letter  of  Dr.  Kerfoot,  to  which 
Bishop  Whittingham's  letter  is  a  reply,  was  as  follows : 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Kerfoot  to  the  Bishop  of  Maryland. 

College  of  St.  James,  Md.,  Jan.  21,  1861. 

My  Dear  Bishop, — I  was  right  glad  to  see  your  letters  to  ^R"''*';^* '^'^  . 
the  Governor  in  the  American.  The  satisfaction,  and,  if  I 
may  use  the  expression,  the  approbation  I  felt  were  such  as  I 
do  not  often  find  m^'self  as  keenly  enjoying  as  I  did  in  this 
case.  I  know  your  rule  and  habit  about  things  political,  and 
hence  the  surprise.  And  I  had  so  much  admired  Gov.  Hicks 's 
determined  bearing  and  that  rarely  real  and  manly  letter,  and 
so  felt  for  him  (assailed  as  he  was,  and  is,  by  so  many  im- 
petuous men),  that  the  fact  of  his  having  so  strong  a  letter 
from  you,  and  of  your  so  rightly,  wisely  and  prudently,  too, 
consenting  to  its  publication,  gave  me  very  unwonted 
pleasure.  I  myself  so  felt  with  Gov.  Hicks,  that  oq  the  7th,  late 
at  night,  after  reading  his  letter,  I  sat  down  and  wrote  him 

warmly  and  cordially  of  my  own  earnest  concurrence 

These  are  no  ordinary  questions  of  politics.  Radical  revolu- 
tion, tearing  our  verj'  houses  down  over  our  heads,  and 
offering  our  fields  and  homes  as  places  for  battle  and  plunder, 
rushing  Maryland  into  ruin  just  because  South  Carolina 
played  the  part  of  folly  and  madness,  when  all  States  north 
of  her  would  have  waited — all  this  is  too  much.  And  even 
clergymen  have  a  duty  now  to  protest,  as  men  and  fathers  of 
families  and  shareholders  in  great  works  and  solemn  inter- 
ests, against  being  dragged  into  needless  as  well  as  terrible 
evil 

Here  in  the  College  all  is  perfectly  quiet  and  friencWy.  The  feeling  in 
No  hard  feeling  grows  up.  The  boys  are  all  peaceful  and  ^  ''^^^' 
friendl\%  though  three-fourths  of  our  Southern  boys  are,  as 
their  families  are,  "  Union  men."  [This  is  in  January,  1861.] 
This  convinces  me  that  the  solid  men  and  homes  of  the  South 
are  not  secessionists.  The  folks  that  send  us  boys  are  clearly 
not  of  this  class.    A  week  ago,  at  public  "declamation,"  of 


200  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.        [Chap.  VIII. 

ten  speakers,  four  declaimed  Union  speeches.  One  speaker 
was  from  Pemisylvania  (a  mild  speech)  ;  the  others  were 
from  Maryland,  Missouri  and  Louisiana.  The  last  spoke  out 
a  stern  denunciation  of  disunion.  I  have  asked  them  all 
hereafter  to  avoid  in  essays  and  declamations  any  political 

topics Truly  your  loving  son, 

J.  B.  Kebfoot. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Kerfooi  to  Wm.  G.  Harrison.,  Esq. 

College  of  St.  James,  Md.,  Jan.  22.  1861. 

....  [After  defending  Bishop Whittiugham  and  mention- 
ing his  own  letter  to  Gov.  Hicks.]  All  goes  well  here,  peace- 
fully, orderly  and  affectionately.  To  secure  this,  prudence, 
cheerfulness  and  a  kind  word  of  caution,  or  hint  to  feel  and 
speak  considerately  among  themselves,  to  believe  much  less 
than  rumor  tells,  and  to  hope  more  of  men  and  events  than 
telegrams  and  malice  report,  are  quietly  used.  We  never  had 
more  freedom  from  acerbity  of  feeling. 

Three-fourths  of  our  boys  from  all  parts  of  the  South  are 
from  Union — anti-secession — families,  and  retain  their  home 
views  and  feelings.  Some  bring  just  the  opposite  theories, 
but  all  are  good-natured  with  us  and  with  each  other.  But 
the  rush  of  events  and  Ihe  great  uncertainty  of  each  coming 
day  decided  me,  in  compliance  with  the  urgent  request  of  the 
officers  here,  to  postpone  all  ni}'  own  absences.'  Any  day's 
news  might  stir  tlie  young  blood  bitterl}'.  Little  could  be 
done  anywhere  7201c,  and  my  absence  from  home  might  be 
most  inopportune.  Unless  this  latitude  become  the  field 
of  warfare,  our  work  and  numbers  may  probabh^  gain  rather 
than  lose  bj^  this  anxiety.  Southern  parents  will  seek  the 
seclusion  of  their  sons  from  the  restlessness  and  distraction 
at  home.     But  the  man  that  attempts  prophecies  now  is  far 

from  wise If  we  can  only  get  through  without  war, 

tiie  result  will  be  bearable  in  an}-  event.  To  war.,  and  all 
that  can  produce  it,  especially  that  can  bring  it  to  our  fields 
and  homes,  I  am  unalterably  opposed. 

>  [To  collect  funds  for  the  new  building  in  Baltimore  County.] 


1861.]  OUGHT  MARYLAND  TO  SECEDE?  201 

My  hopes  grow  of  late.    My  iud^ment  and  wish  are  formed.  True  interest  of 

•'        ^       o  J  J      o  Mainland. 

On  grounds  of  conscience  and  prudent  choice,  both  co-equally, 
I  vote  against  any  secession.  It  is  revolution ;  and  I  can 
see  no  sufficient  justification  of  that.  Other  remedies  are 
more  righteous  and  more  hopeful.  Maryland  would  not  of 
herself  iiave  taken  such  a  step.  Therefore  the  haste  of  one  or 
two  extreme  Southern  States  ought  not  to  make  her,  for  any 
reason,  accept  and  assume  the  dire  consequences  of  their 
hasty  act;  least  of  all,  transfer  to  her  cities  and  homes  and 
tields  the  war,  if  an 3'  come,  that  she  never  would  have  waged 
of  her  own  choice.  If  the  Gulf  States  choose  to  have  war,  let 
them  keep  it  on  their  own  soil.  I^Iy  whole  heart  and  con- 
science repel,  from  my  home,  my  wife  and  children,  from  m}' 
place  of  work,  and  from  that  work  itself,  this  peril  and  provo- 
cation of  civil  war,  which  I  pray  God  none  maj'  feel,  but  which, 
I  insist  upon  it,  none  shall,  with  my  vole,  provoke  hundreds  of 
miles  south,  and  tlien  hold  ics  bound  to  take  its  worst  woes 
into  the  midst  of  us.    I  tliink  1  have  thought  out  my  duty,  and 

see  it  fully  and  finally  on  this  point  and  ground Peace  is 

my  wish — peace  everywhere,  but  by  all  means  peace  here  in 

Maryland Secession  would  make  Maryland  a  Xorth- 

ern  State  in  ten  j'ears,  and  Virginia,  too,  in  twenty.  It  would, 
— which  is  the  woe  I  see  ju?t  ahead, — involve  the  attempt  to 
resume  control  of  Washington  City  now.  And  that  attempt 
would  bring  half  a  million,  or  a  million  if  need  be,  from  the 
North  in  two  weeks,  and  every  city  and  town  of  ours  would 
be  in  ashes,  and  our  homes  and  fields  full  of  blood.  I  know 
the  North,  and  I  know  tliis  would  be  done,  right  or  wrong. 
And  as  a  man,  a  citizen  and  a  father  of  a  famil}-,  I  deprecate 
the  rash  measures  that  would  bring  this  evil 

Wm.  G,  Harrison,  Esq.,  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Kerf  cot 

Baltimore,  25th  January.  1861. 
My  Dear  Friend, — Your  letter  of  the  22d  is  this  evening  p,.  j^erfooc^ 
before  me.     J71  love  and  sorrow  I  speak  to  you  my  regret  tiiat  ^f^jj^''*  ^'^■ 
you  have  taken  so  active   a  part  in  politics,  and  partisan 
politics,  too,  as  to  have  written  to  Mr.  Hicks ;  you  say,  pri- 


202  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.         [Chap.  vm. 

vately ;  but  I  had  heard  of  it,  and  I  doubt  not  others  will 
also.  I  trust  he  may  not  publish  it.  By  this  act  you  have 
gone  further  than  those  priests  who  have  used  their  pulpits.  I 
had  hoped  "The  Church  "  would  not  have  joined  the  battles 
of  Mammon.  The  people  at  large  do  not  and  cannot  separate 
a  man  from  his  office,  and  by  the  action  of  "  W.  E.  AVhitting- 
hara  "  (for  in  that  letter  he  does  not  speak  as  Bishop),  I  am 
often  provoked  to  defend  "The  Church"  from  the  charge  of 
"being  in  the  fray."  I  have  been  forced  to  deny  that  our 
Bishop  has  written  a  word ;  to  say — which  is  strictly  true — 
that  W.  R.  Whittingham  has,  in  his  individuality,  written  his 
private  opinion,  and  has  promised  to  the  Governor  the  aid 
which  he,  W.  R.  W.,  can  exercise  to  support  him ;  but  that 
(so  far  as  I  am  concerned,  and  many,  very  many  more  of  his 
flock),  his  ajjinion  in  political  matters  has  not  any  other  weight 
than  that  of  other  men,  and  certainly  not  as  much  as  that  of 
many  laymen.  A  more  indiscreet  act  the  Bishop  never  com- 
mitted, and  it  is  possible,  if  not  probable,  it  maybe  the  cause 
of  more  strife  inside  the  Church  than  he  will  abate  outside  of 
it.  I  consider  the  advice  of  the  fifteen  Senators  of  Maryland 
to  the  Governor  [recommending  a  special  session  of  the 
Legislature]  of  more  weight  than  if  all  the  clergy  had  sent 
him  a  memorial  to  the  contrary.  You  are  not  posted  in 
politics,  and  are  wrong  when  you  suppose  Mr.  Hicks  influenced 
by  love  of  country  or  fear  of  war.  It  is  with  him  love  of 
party,  and  it  is  his  party  who  have  got  up  tlie  cry  of  war,  and 
are  yet  threatening  it.  The  South  have  asked  ^j>eace  and  have 
never  threatened  to  go  to  war  with  the  North,  and  never  have 
armed  for  any  other  purpose  than  to  defend  their  hearthstones, 
threatened  as  they  are  with  "  coercion,"  and  to  be  provided 
against  a  servile  rising.  I  really  (serious  as  the  subject  is) 
am  amused  by  your  fancied  security  as  a  Middle  Republic, 
with  the  pretension  of  driving  back  the  millions  of  Northern 
fanatics  on  one  side  and  fire-eating  Southerners  on  the  other, 

and  that  without  vvarfare Now,  dear  friend,  all  these 

devices  are  I'rom  very  good-meaning,  but  from  ver3'^  short- 
sighted ....  politicians,  who  never  had  the  mind  of  the 
people 


1861.]  GOVERNOR  EICKS.  203 

The  Northern  States  (i.  c,  the  Government  of  the  Northern  The  political 
States)  are  in  the  hands  of  a  minority  party,  known  as  aboli- 
tionists, whose  numerical  strength  is  not  more  than  one-third 
of  the  people ;  their  type  you  have  in  Congress.  They 
control  the  people.  Xovv,  in  this  struggle  for  constitutional 
libertij,  the  South  is  not  able  through  Congress  to  reach  the 
people,  and  therefore  the  necessity  of  taking  the  last,  rightful 
remedy,  that  of  reclaiming  the  delegated  powers,  and  thereby 
imposing  upon  the  people  of  the  North  a  necessity  of  taking 
up  the  causes  of  oftense  and  deciding  the  issue. 

The  delay  in  the  South's  thus  acting  in  a  body  is  the  only 
source  of  anxiety.  Had  it  been  done  at  once,  a  reconciliation 
would  have  been  matured  by  July,  and  less  cause  of  difficulty 
in  the  adjustment  would  exist.  How  has  the  conduct  of  Mr. 
Hicks  placed  Maryland  ?  Now,  when  Virginia  has  called  a 
convention  of  the  Southern  States  on  the  4th  of  February 
[the  so-called  Peace  Conference],  to  consult  and  propose 
terms  of  adjustment,  Maryland  is  silent.  Do  you  suppose  the 
people  of  this  State  will  consent  to  be  dragged  into  the 
Northern  Confederacy  ?  If  you  do,  you  will  waken  up  to  a 
fearful  state  of  things,  if  it  be  attempted.  As  to  the  idea  of 
a  forcible  resistance  to  the  inauguration  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  it 
only  had  birth  in  the  brain  of  Mr.  Hicks  and  his  like.  The 
letter  of  our  Chief  of  Police  to  the  Mayor  of  Washington 
ought  to  satisfy  honest  men.  I  tell  you,  if  the  North  does 
not  yield,  the  entire  fifteen  States,  including  Delaware,  will 
confederate  ;  and  the  longer  it  is  put  oft",  the  less  likely  will  be 
a  reunion  or  reconciliation.  My  heart  and  judgment  go  for 
reconciliation,  and  I  consider  any  attempt  to  stay  the  tide 
now  moving  in  the  South  as  a  bar  to  that  great  object,  and 
may  be  the  source  of  infinite  turmoil  and  ruin,  and  possibly 
end  in  civil  war.  I  am  happy  to  know  tliat  there  is  not  one 
cent  in  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States,  and  that  it  will 
take  twenty  millions  to  carry  on  the  Government  to  June — 

which  must  be  borrowed As  to  the  millions  of  Northern 

men  who  would  march  upon  the  South,  I  am  by  that  idea  con- 
firmed in  the  opinion  that  you  do  not  know  the  state  of 
feeling  at   the  North   towards   the   South.     You   could   not 


204  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.         [Chap.  VIII. 

muster  an  army  strong  enough  to  make  its  way  through  the 
Middle  Republic  you  think  about,  let  alone  pass  into  even 
South  Carolina. ^  So  be  at  ease  on  the  subject  of  war  between 
North  and  South,  dear  friend.  My  anxiety  is  about  home; 
there  is  an  intense^  smothered  feeling  among  the  people  at  the 
conduct  of  Mr.  Hicks,  and  the  action  of  the  other  Southern 
States,  especially  Virginia,  may  excite  it  into  flame.  Were  it 
not  for  the  loyalty  to  their  country  of  those  who  o2jpose  Ms 
course,  it  would  have  broken  out  ere  this.  I  am  most  anxious 
on  this  score,  and  not  much  disturbed  about  having  tem- 
porarily two  confederacies,  for  I  think  great  Ijenefit  will 
spring  from  the  move.  You  are  right  in  your  decision  in 
staying  at  home  ;  I  do  not  think  much  could  be  achieved  in 
the  way  of  additional  subscriptions  ;  we  must  try  to  collect  as 
closely  as  possible  what  has  been  subscribed.    Work  is  now 

suspended 

My  dear  mother  is  easy  from  bodily  pain,  but  her  appetite 
is  wretched,  and  we  are  anxious  on  that  score.  Your  mes- 
sage shall  be  read  to  her,  and  be  assured  of  the  unceasing 
love  and  affection  which,  whether  we  go  North  or  South,  you 

and  yours  are  bound  to  us  by Your  affectionate, 

Wm.  G.  Harrison. 

P.  S. — Somehow  or  other,  in  my  eagerness  to  reply  to  your 
politics  and  soften  your  war-like  fears  or  apprehensions,  I 
missed  the  postscript  to  your  previous  letter,  and  grieve  to 
hear  of  little  Katey's  sickness,  but  rejoice  to  learn  she  is  so 
well  over  it.  Let  us  hear  again  soon,  for  I  know  my  mother 
and  sisters  will  have  anxiety  until  she  is  herself  again  ;  her 
symptoms  were  very  like  scarlatina.    Yours, 

W.  G.  H. 


1  It  is  not  elngular  that  sucli  an 
opinion  could  be  prevalent  in 
Maryland  in  Januanj,  1861,  when 
one  recollects  the  utterances  of 
the  New  York  press,  and  the  atti- 
tude and  speeches  of  many  lead- 


ing Northern  men.  A  great  and 
sudden  change  of  sentiment  took 
place  throughout  the  country  in 
April,  after  the  surrender  of  Fort 
Sumter. 


1861.]  CLERGYMEN  AND  POLITICS.  205 

I  read  your  letter  as  you  would  wish  a  true  friend  to  do, 
and  just  as  if  you  had  been  talking  to  me ;  but  I  must  add 
my  hope  that  so  long  as  you  are  in  orders  you  will  not  write 
letters  on  party  politics  to  partisan  leaders.  Your  feelings, 
and  not  your  judgment,  governed  you  when  you  did  it. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Kerfoot  to  Wm.  G.  Harrison,  Esq. 

College  of  St.  James,  Md.,  March  20th,  1861. 

My  Dear  Friend, — It  seems  strange  to  have  so  long  inter- 
mitted letters  to  you ;  but  all  has  been  going  on  well  and 

quietly  here — entirely  so When  I  have   wished  to 

write  of  our  college  plans  and  progress,  I  have  been  kept 
back  from  day  to  day  in  hopes  of  some  deliuite  guidance  from 
political  matters 

I  must  not  let  my  pen  run  far  into  civil  matters.  I  have 
known  no  change  of  views  save  advancing  power  of  con- 
viction in  favor  of  my  earliest  opinions,  both  as  to  National 
and  State  policy.  The  course  of  events  confirms  me  in  those 
opinions,  both  as  to  "the  right"  and  "  the  prudent"  in  these 
events 

I  deplore  the  Union  lost ;  but  vastly  more  the  example  of 
action  in  hot  haste,  by  conventions  chosen  under  excitement, 
by  doubtful  majorities — in  some  one  or  more  cases,  by  minori- 
ties—making radical,  revolutionary  changes  without  any  direct 

reference  to  the  people's  vote Our  commonest  changes 

of  constitution  are  made  slowly,  and  by  fair,  full  vote.  This 
kind  and  mode  of  revolution  kills  all  liberty  and  safety.  To 
call  it  democratic,  free,  popular,  or  by  any  comforting  title,  is 
impossible 

By  the  by,  it  may  not  yet  be  too  long  after  the  time  to  correct 
a  mihapprehension  which  I  recollect  your  letter  to  me  sliowed 
of  wliat  1  said  as  to  my  letter  to  Governor  Hicks  being 
"private."  I  only  meant,  not  thought  of  by  me  i^or  print. 
I  knew  very  well  my  letter  could  reach  no  such  notoriety. 
But  I  never  withheld  the  fact  of  my  writing  it.  That  fact,  and 
my  strong  approval  ■  of  the  Governor's  "  keepiug-quiet " 
policy,  I  stated  wherever  occasion  or  duty  required.    This 


206  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.         [Chap.  VIII. 

was  at  several  times  the  case  in  conversation  with  persons  of 
difi'erent  views.  I  made  no  secret  of  the  act;  I  felt  that  it 
was,  in  itself,  my  duty  to  the  public  good,  and  the  avowal  of 
it  my  duty  to  my  own  independence,  and  sometimes  as  a 
sufl'rage  in  behalf  of  the  right,  as  I  deemed  it, 
i>efen(is  Bishop  The  Bishop's  course — or  rather,  as  you  rightly  distinguish, 
W.  R.  W.'s  open  assurance  to  the  Governor  (who,  as  over 
him  in  the  State,  had  a  right  to  that  support,  if  he  so  thought 
and  asked  it) — I  wrote  to  him  (the  Bishop)  to  say,  met  my 
cordial  support.  I  would  not  have  censured  any  clergyman 
for  withholding  the  public  avowal  of  his  personal  judgment. 
He  might  on  good  grounds  so  decide.  But  my  sympathy  was, 
as  I  think  my  own  decision  would  have  been  in  like  circum- 
stances, with  W.  R.  W.  -4s  a  man  only,  not  as  Bishop,  he 
spoke  out.  We  clerg^'men  ought  to,  and  do,  abstain  from  mere 
party  politics.  These  are  not  party  politics ;  this  is  revolu- 
tion. We  are  citizens,  heads  of  families — a  married  clergy 
are  not  like  a  body  of  foreign,  celibate  priests,  with  no  real 
stake  in  the  land — we  have  oaths  on  us  to  the  State,  too. 
And  when  the  flood  of  what  we  may  deem  revolution  is 
threatening  us,  our  homes  and  our  consciences,  the  scope  of 
our  action  changes  entirely.  It  is  still  to  be  peaceful,  patient, 
prudent ;  but  it  must  be  open  and  firm.  The  clergy  are  men 
of  intelligence  in  such  matters.  I  know  many  who,  like 
myself,  have  long  and  thoroughly  read  up  on  constitutional 
law  and  general  history.  Our  country,  and  our  homes,  and 
the  Church  of  Christ,  demand  a  prudent  and  loving,  but  Irank 
and  avowed,  action.  All  over  the  land  bishops  and  clergy 
have  spoken  out  in  their  pulpits,  and  pastorals,  too ;  and  with 
approval  in  their  own  sections  sometimes,  and  sometimes 
not.  I  really  believe  AV.  R.  W.  did  a  manly  thing,  and  that 
we  all  will  yet  come  to  think  so.  But  here  I  am  running  on, 
when  I  said  I  must  not  say  much.  I  came  very  near  writing 
you  seriously  about  the  proposed  sovereign  action  of  the  late 
Conference  in  Baltimore,  and  begging  you  to  dissent.  Judge 
Chambers's  development  (though  tardy)  made  my  homily 
needless. 
I  will  only  add  now  that  I  can  claim  to  possess  prudence 


1861.]  APRIL  \Uh,  1861.  207 

and  frankness.  I  have,  you  see,  successfully  combined  both, 
so  far,  in  carrying  the  College  safely  through  the  four  months 
past.  My  co-workers  come  in  for  full  share  of  these  two 
virtues.  All  is  peace  here,  as  well  as  candor.  I  hold  that 
independence  and  kindness  are  the  most  natural  friends  in  the 
world.  I  don't  like  your  present  2)olitics;  but  I  love  and 
revere  your  decision  and  your  keeping  your  heart  above  all 
the  earnest  struggles  of  trying  times.    But  I  must  not  try 

even  your  patience  by  writing  any  more Ever  your 

sincere  and  loving  friend, 

J.  B.  Kebfoot. 

Matters  in  Maryland  soon  became  threatening.  On  Apru  mn,  isei, 
the  memorable  19th  of  April,  a  regiment  of  Massa- '" 
chusetts  infantry,  on  their  way  to  Washington  (under 
President  Lincoln's  first  call  for  75,000  men),  were 
attacked  in  the  streets  of  Baltimore  by  the  angered 
and  excited  populace.  The  brave  Mayor  of  Baltimore, 
George  William  Brown,  Esq.  (who  was  afterwards 
confined,  without  charges  or  trial,  for  thirteen  months 
in  Fort  Warren,  along  with  other  Maryland  citizens), 
sternly  true  to  his  duty,  gave  his  protection  to  the 
soldiers  who  had  been  summoned  by  the  President  to 
the  capital  of  the  country.  At  the  risk  of  his  life, 
he  marched,  as  Mayor  of  the  City,  at  the  head  of  the 
regiment,   through   the    surging,   maddened    crowd.' 

'  This  act  deserves  further  men-  i    from  passing  through  her  bor- 

tion,  not  only  for  its  braver}',  but  |    ders  V  "  This  was  the  feeling  that 

also  to  give  a  better  idea  of  the  prompted  the  wild  outbreak  of 

intense  excitement  that  prevailed  April  19th,  which  so  endangered 

in  Maryland  in  those  days  just  ,    the    lives    of   the   unsuspecting 

after  the  surrender  of  Fort  Sum-  soldiers,  who,  acting  under  or- 

ter.      "Ought  not  Maryland  to  ders,  were  attempting  to  march 

try  to  prevent  the  troops  which  through  the  streets  to  the  Wash- 

the  President  had  summoned  to  |    ington    Railroad   Station.     The 

be  used  against  her  sister  States,  |    Mayor's  sympathies  (like  those 


208 


LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.  [Chap.  VIII. 


During  these  few  days  Southern  feeling  seemed  to 
spread  like  fire  in  Baltimore.  The  Union  sen- 
timent, which  had  certainly  existed  and  been  out- 
spoken till  then,  seemed  all  at  once  to  disappear 
or  become  silent,  and  very  many  thought  that  Mary- 
land would  follow  Virginia  in  a  few  days  or  weeks, 
and  join  the  Southern  Confederacy.  Under  these 
unparalleled  and  exciting  circumstances,  Bishop 
Whittingham,  on  the  23d  of  April,  issued  a  circu- 
lar, marked  ^^ private  and  confidential ^^^  to  every 
clergyman  in  his  diocese,  which  was  strangely  mis- 
understood by  some  to  mean  that  the  Bishop  had 
himself  changed  his  political  views  and  sympathies.' 


of  the  vast  majority  of  his  fellow- 
citizens)  were  not  with  those 
soldiers,  yet  he  rislied  his  life  in 
marching  at  the  head  of  the 
column  to  give  the  Massachusetts 
regiment  the  protection  which  he 
felt  it  was  their  right  to  claim, 
and  his  duty,  as  Mayor  of  Balti- 
more, to  afford. 

What  Baltiraoreans  thought, 
and  still  think,  of  the  conduct  of 
their  Mayor  on  this  critical  occa- 
sion, cannot  be  belter  told  than  in 
the  words  of  Col.  Charles  Mar- 
shall, formerly  of  the  staff  of  Gen. 
Lee,  and  now  an  emment  lawyer 
of  Baltimore.  Addressing  a  great 
audience  in  October,  1885,  he 
thus  echoed  the  universal  senti- 
ment of  his  fellow-citizens: 

"  You  can  recall  the  19th  of 
April,  when  a  man  of  peace,  who 
hated  violence  and  bloodshed, 
fearlessly  marched  through  Pratt 
street,  and  led  the  way  for  the 
troops    to    reach    our     capital. 


[Applause.]  The  passions  of  war 
have  departed  fn^m  my  heart. 
[Applause.]  I  can  applaud  acts 
of  heroism,  whether  done  by  a 
man  who  wore  the  blue  or  by 
one  who  wore  the  gray.  [Tre- 
mendous cheering.]  I  have  seen 
charges  on  battlelields,  swords 
clashing  against  swords,  but  in 
my  humble  judgment,  the  sight 
of  Geo.  Wm.  Brown  leading  the 
Massachusetts  regiment  through 
the  streets  was  the  most  gallant 
thing  I  ever  saw.  [Applause.] 
His  sympathy  was  not  witli  them, 
but  his  duty  overcame  personal 
feelings." 

'  See  Dr.  Brand's  Life  of  Bhhop 
Wlntthqjham,  Vol.  II,  p.  17,  where 
the  circular  is  given,  with  an  in- 
teresting account  of  the  discus- 
•  sion  it  caused.  See  especially 
Bishop  W.'s  letter  in  explanation 
to  the  Rev.  Dr.  C.  S.  tleury,  ibid., 

p.  ao. 


1861.]        THE  PRAYER  FOR  THE  PRESIDENT.       209 

This  harmless  and  judicious  circular  stated  that  it 
was  the  intention  of  the  Bishop,  in  case  the  Legislature 
at  its  approaching  convention  should  decide  on  the 
secession  of  the  State,  to  authorize  the  omission 
from  the  Daily  Service  of  the  words  "  President  of 
the  United  States."  The  circular  concluded  with 
these  words :  "  Let  our  prayers,  therefore,  go  up 
before  God  in  such  form  that  all  can  join  in  them 
with  a  pure  conscience  and  single  heart."  The 
Bishop's  meaning  at  the  time  was  plainly,  that  the 
prayers  offered  by  the  clergyman,  as  representative  of 
the  congregation,  should  be  expressed  in  such  terms 
that  both  Union  men  and  Secessionists  could  use  them 
with  equally  good  conscience.  How  much  trouble 
and  bitter  feeling  might  have  been  spared  if  this 
admirable  thought  had  been  remembered  and  acted 
upon  on  all  occasions  of  issuing  prayers  and  thanks- 
givings in  the  divided  Diocese  of  Maryland  during 
the  whole  course  of  the  unhappy  conflict ! 

The  occasion  to  which  the  Bishop  referred,  as  is 
well  known,  never  occurred,  but  the  circular,  both 
then  and  afterwards,  caused  much  needless  and  unin- 
telligent criticism.  The  following  letter  of  Dr.  Ker- 
foot  begins  by  referring  to  this  matter : 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Kerfoot  to  the  Bishop  of  Maryland. 

College  of  St.  James,  April  27th,  1861. 
My  Dear  Bishop, — Your  circular  caiue  two  days  since.  I 
was  just  about  writing  to  you  to  suggest  the  very  action  you 
have  talien  and  the  very  wording  of  the  change  of  petition 
which  you  prescribe,  and,  with  so  wise  and  Christian  a  pru- 
dence, explain  and  justify.  We  all  sympathize  with  you,  and 
shall  stand  by  you  in  these  sad  and  changeful  times.    The 


210  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.         [Chap.  VIII. 


Church  must  sufler.  Men's  opinions  and  passions  will  demand 
more  or  less  than  sane  consciences  have  given  or  can  give. 
We  can  only  strive  by  God's  grace  to  do  our  duties  in  meek- 
ness and  wisdom 

c'fifT^  0/'  the  j^\i  gogg  ojj  perfectly  well  among  us.  Six  [boys]  have  left  us 
from  jjarents'  panic.  Temper  and  order  here  are  the  same.  It 
has  taken,  however,  anxious  solicitude  to  keep  this  so.  No 
doubt  our  little  community  could  blaze,  if  a  spark  fell  and 
God  did  not  help  us  to  see  it  and  quench  it.  Our  young  folk 
behave  beautifully.  Most  of  them  are  now  Secessionists. 
They  know  that  we  are  Union  men.  Yet  obedience  and 
harmony,  and  in  most  of  the  classes  marked  industry,  prevail. 
Every  Northern  boy  testifies  to  his  comfortableness  here. 
To  God  be  the  praise  for  His  grace  in  this  to  them  and  to  us. 
Whatever  be  just  ahead  of  us,  the  College  is  surely  not  perish- 
ing from  within  itself.  Parents'  letters,  too,  express  the 
warmest  confidence.  We  must  all  push  on.  The  Church  is 
our  home,  be  her  sojourn  where  it  may. 

No  one's  trials  or  disappointments  can  exceed,  or  even 
equal,  yours  noiv.  We  will,  to  tlie  best  of  our  ability,  keep  up 
our  part  of  the  work  here.  Still,  wisdom  and  duty  demand 
that  we  foresee  its  probable  perils.  Local  churches  may 
languish  or  die  and  yet  revive.  Home  demand  and  supply 
will  control  and  efl'ect  that.  But  our  College  is  in  great  peril. 
Border  war,  apparently  inevitable  now,  must  shut  it  up — and 
then  how  long  ?  When  peace  comes,  ivJiere  will  Maryland 
belong?  If  to  the  North,  will  youths  come  to  us  thence? 
They  will  hardly  come  then  from  the  South.  If  to  the  South, 
will  the  South  trust  us  in  the  embittered  feelings  of  recent 
war  and  distrust  and  antagonism?  ....  We  cannot  go 
on  if  war  overruns  this  district,  as  it  must  if  peace  do  not 

come  soon All  these  anxieties  may  be  dissipated 

by  the  actual  result  of  things.  But  to  count  on  this  would 
not  be  wise.  We  are  preparing  to  meet  any  emergency 
by  calmly  pondering  our  duty  under  the  probable  contin- 
gencies of  the  times  just  ahead.  Every  man  here  is  bent  on 
discovering  and  doing  his  duty.  We  all  seek  grace  to  think 
and  do  what  is  right.  .... 


1861.]  FIRST  ARRIVAL  OF  SOLDIERS.  211 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Kerfoot  to  a  Maryland  Clergyman,  a  Graduate  of 

St.  Jameses. 

June  13,  1861. 

....  Our  work  goes  on  well  every  way.    More  than  80  '^'o^njeu  him  to 

°  J         •'  stand  (rt/ nig 

boys  are  here.  Some  23  have  gone  of  late,  most  of  them  Bishop. 
from  war  alarms.  We  believe  St.  James's  will  live  on  in, 
through  and  after  war  anxieties.  May  God  so  grant !  And 
may  He  prosper  the  right,  and  give  us  all  grace  to  have 
charity  to  believe  in  good  men's  honesty  while  we  dissent 
from  their  views !  These  are  times  that  stir  to  their  depths 
all  souls  that  are  worth  liaving. 

But  it  is  a  poor  Christianity  that  cannot  find  charity  for 
other  folks  as  good  as  and  better  than  ourselves.  To  practise 
all  this  tasks  my  principle — for  I  am  not  one  of  the  unmovable 
sort.  I  doubt  not  you  have  thought  out  all  this,  and  I  am 
sure  you  will  try  to  practise  it.  Especially,  I  am  sure,  you 
have  stood  b}'  our  noble  Bishop  (whether  you  would  agree 
with  him,  I  know  not)  in  his,  as  usual,  honest,  unselfish 
course.  It  has  grieved  me  to  know  that  a  heart  as  loving  as 
his  has  had  to  sutler  the  alienation  of  friends  whose  afiection 
a  few  short  months  ago  promised  to  stand  any  test.  My  entii-e 
concurrence  in  his  views  of  civil  afl'airs  (as  far  as  I  know 
them)  has  made,  perhaps,  my  cordial  support  of  him  an  easy 
dut}'  to  me.  I  have  felt  sure,  and  am  sure,  that  yoit,  would 
be  among  those  who  would  love  and  help  such  a  Bishop, 
though  his  honest,  open  course  lay,  in  such  secular  matters, 
where  you  could  not  co-work.  My  own  I'esolve  is  to  tr}',  by 
God's  help,  to  be  myself  independent,  frank  and  peaceable, 
and  to  keep  on  loving  my  friends  who  try  to  be  so,  too — 
though  I  dissent  widely,  perhaps,  from  their  views  about  the 
revolution,  and  our  interests  and  duty  in  regard  to  it  as 
Marylanders 

In  June,  1861,  United  States  soldiers  appeared  ior  First  amvai of 

,       „  .  1       /-I    T 1  .  sc^diers  at  the 

the  nrst  time  on  the  College  grounds,  causing  much  college. 
anxiety.     It  was  the  first  encampment  of  Union  troops 
in  a  Southern  State,  and  many  of  the  students  were 
ardent  Secessionists. 


212  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.  [Chap.  VIII. 


From  Dr.  KerfooVs  Diary. 

Saturday,  June  15th. — Momentous  day.  About  5.30  p. 
m.,  United  States  troops  appeared  on  the  Boonsboro'  road, 
and  entered  the  large  field  just  south  of  the  college  ;  4000 
men,  Pennsylvania  regiments,  Gen.  Williams,  encamped 
there.  Offered  the  officers  all  courtesies,  and  the  men,  as 
many  as  we  could,  some  refreshment.  Fearful  concern  for 
our  boys. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Kerfoot  to  the  Bishop  of  Maryland. 

June  19th,  1861. 

My  Dear  Bishop, — I  hope  that  no  rumors  about  us  have 
made  you  anxious.  Here,  from  Saturday  5  p.  m.  to  Sunday 
7  or  8  p.  m.,  we  were  very  anxious,  and  with  cause.  But 
all  has  gone  off  and  gone  by,  safe  and  well ;  to  God,  most 
merciful  and  watchful  over  us,  be  many  thanks. 

On  Saturday,  5  p.  m.,  some  tutors  came  hastily  to  my 
study:  "The  troops  are  coming — entering  the  next  field." 
I  had  been  most  kindly  assured,  some  days  before,  by  Adjt.- 
Gen  Porter  '  (our  Mrs.  Porter's  son),  that  they  would  encamp 

'  The  well-known  Maj.-Gen.  ■  cated  and  established.  With  his 
Fitz-John  Porter.  His  mother  characteristic  devotion  to  his 
was  at  that  time  matron  and  friends,  Dr.  Kerfoot  lost  no  favor- 
lady-head  of  the  College.  She  able  opportunity  of  pressing  his 
was  a  lovely  and  accomplished  \  view  of  the  injustice  done  Gen. 
woman,  with  the  dignified  and  j  Porter,  when  he  met,  as  he  often 
charming  manners  of  the  ladies  did,  influential  public  men.  He 
of  the  old  school,  and  the  rector's  |  urged  the  reparation  which 
family  and  all  the  inmates  of  the  has  now  been  partially  accom- 
institution  were  deeply  attached  :  plished,  but  which  will  never  be 
to  her.  Her  grandson,  Lucian  completed  until  the  Government 
Porter  Waddell,  nephew  of  Gen.  of  the  United  States  magnani- 
Porter,  was  an  instructor  in  the  i  mously  atones  for  a  great  wrong 
College.  Dr.  Kerfoot,  it  may  be  \  unintentionally  done,  by  repay- 
mentloned,  was  ever  a  warm  j  ing  her  brave  and  ill-used  soldier 
friend  of  the  General,  whom  he  ]  the  large  sum  of  which  he  has 
knew  intimatelj',  and,  without  j  been  so  long  deprived,  and  which 
wavering  or  misgivings,  was  a  j  is  unquestionably  due  to  him  and 
firm  believer  in  his  loyalty  and  |  his  family, 
fidelity,  now  so  thoroughly  vindi-  ' 


1861.]  FIRST  ARRIVAL  OF  SOLDIERS.  213 

none  near  us.  This  brigade,  nearly  4000  Pennsylvanians, 
mistook  tlaeir  appointed  field  and  entered  the  one  next  us  on 
the  south.  I  was  over  in  the  field  at  once,  met  the  head  of 
the  column,  inquired  for  the  General,  &c.,  and  introduced 
myself  and  some  with  me.  He  had  been  warned  kindly  in 
our  behalf  by  Major  Porter  (Adjt.-Gen,  to  Gen.  Patterson), 
and  he  and  his  stafl'  were  at  once  on  most  friendly  terms  with 
us.  I  told  him  my  and  our  loyalty,  adding  that  "however, 
we  were  clergymen,  with  special  responsibilities  over  a  most 
peculiar  charge,  and  we  had  decided  to  meet  courteously 
military  from  Xorth  and  South,  give  the  officers  ever}-  courtesy 
as  gentlemen,  and  their  command  every  facility."  Gen. 
Williams  responded  very  pleasantly.  The  brigade  had 
marched  twenty-two  miles — the  day  ver}'  hot.  That  evening 
the  students  mixed  somewhat  with  them,  and  all  went  on 
cheerfully.  All  of  the  green  behind  the  College  thronged 
with  them,  or  rather,  the  roughest  of  them,  but  all  went 
well.  The  bath-house  was  open  to  the  officers,  and  some 
of  them  and  about  70  or  80  men  got  supper.  Gen.  W. 
went  with  me  and  marked  out  the  line,  across  our  spring, 
over  the  little  bridge. 

Sunday  morning,  about  4  o'clock,  the  sounds  of  50  io  10  Jmemii.  An 
musket-shots  from  the  pickets  coming  in  were  tokens  of  a  ^"/"^ '^""' 
strange  neighborhood.  About  7  or  8  o'clock  the  men  spread 
up  all  over  us — none  rude,  but  all  "at  home."  We  felt  that 
this  would  work  mischief.  Many  of  the  men  were  of  rough 
make,  and  our  boys  (though  warned)  were,  some  of  them, 
silly,  and  might  talk  "  South,"  &c.  A  note  from  me  to  Gen. 
Williams,  taken  by  a  Lieutenant  from  Pittsburgh  (one  of 
Swope's  flock,  who  took  to  us  closely  on  discovering  his  own 
pastor's  home  and  chapel),  soon  brought  an  officer  and  a 
strong  guard,  who,  not  without  much  decision,  brought  the 
stragglers  back  within  the  lines.  The  officers  (all  militia) 
were  all  of  them  prompt,  courteous  and  faithful.  They  came 
to  me  for  my  wishes  and  fulfilled  them,  but  I  felt  fearfully 
anxious.  At  the  9  o'clock  chapel  I  spoke  to  the  whole  con- 
gregation, laid  down  strict  rules  of  severance,   &c 

Just  afterwards  I  learned  from  some  of  our  German  servants 


214  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.         [Chap.  VIII. 

that  some  of  the  soldiers  were  inquiring,  much  and  threaten- 
ingly, why  there  was  not  a  United  States  flag  up.  I  took 
the  hint,  and  learning  (on  my  asking  another  Lieutenant,  son 
of  Judge  Conyngham,  of  Pennsylvania,  who  had  come  up  to 
claim  my  remembrance  as  my  pupil  at  College  Point,  19 
years  ago)  that  there  were  rumors  of  Secession,  and  that, 
though  the  officers  and  most  of  the  men  would  not  ask  it, 
many  would  be  rough  and  dangerous  on  that  score,  I  asked 
Mr.  Dashiell  (who  was  to  stay  out  of  the  11  o'clock  chapel 
''on  guard")  to  get  out  our  flag.  Not  finding  this  readily, 
he  sent,  with  my  concurrence,  to  the  officers  for  one.  The 
officer  of  the  day.  Col.  Gray,  and  then  Gen.  Williams 
himself,  each  asked,  "Do  you  wish  it?"  (If  not,  constraint 
should  not  be  allowed,  they  meant  and  said.)  Of  course,  we 
like  and  love  the  flag,  audit  went  up,  and  with  it  the  cheers  of 
the  3000  and  more  began  from  the  College  and  rolled  back  to 
the  road,  three-quarters  of  a  mile  oft".  It  is  only  since  then 
we  learned  our  peril.  Two  or  three  malicious  men  had  gone 
among  the  soldiers  and  poisoned  the  minds  of  many  hundreds 
against  the  College  as  "  Secession."  Some  silly,  vain  boys 
had  talked  among  them.  There  was  ....  a  plan  and  pur- 
pose among  not  a  few  of  the  men  to  enforce  the  flag-raising, 
and  serious  harm  v/ould  have  come  among  them  and  to  us. 
One  crazy  boy  (as  I  afterwards  heard),  spoke  aloud,  "  Haul 
down  that  flag  ! "  The  soldiers  sprang  forward,  but  were 
checked.  This  was  their  first  camp  in  a  Southern  State,  and 
they  suspect  everything.  Some  six  officers  came  to  the  chapel. 
In  the  midst  of  the  service  they  were  called  out — "marching 
orders  "  had  come.  At  the  headquarters  in  Hagerstown,  the 
word  came  to  Major  Porter  that  the  brigade  was  close  to  us. 
Unasked  by  us,  instant  order  was  sent  to  remove,  and  ere  the 
day  closed  the  last  guard  was  gone.  Not  one  act  of  theft,  or 
violence,  or  insult,  had  occurred.  Rude  men,  as  many  were — 
miners,  furnace-men,  «&c. — and  provoked  by  the  falsehoods 
of  neighbors,  and  the  silly  words  of  some  boys,  the  day  knew 

no  harm It  would  be  gross  injustice  to  withhold  from 

the  brigade  the  due  credit  of  a  degree  of  order,  and  courtesy, 


1861.]  FIRST  ARRIVAL  OF  SOLDIERS.  215 

and  honesty,  wonderful  among  such  a  host  of  volunteers  for 
three  months'  work 

All  over  our  countr}'  I  hear  this  of  them  :  no  one  is  harmed. 
But  they  must  see  the  flag ;  and  so  they  ought.  I  had  given 
young  tongues,  and  even  little  Secession  flags  (in  private — i.  e., 
in  desks  and  rooms),  pretty  free  scope.  Two  weeks  ago  I  re- 
quired all  the  flags  to  disappear,  as  dangerous  when  the 
United  States  forces  should  come.  This  week  I  have  put 
restraint  on  "  tongues,"  so  that  ill  temper  may  not  overthrow 

the  little  discretion  that  can   survive I  think  the 

College  has  met  this  emergency,  too.  by  God's  help.  But 
there  never  was  demand  before  for  so  much  and  so  determined 
exercise  of  authority.  None  resisted,  but  there  were  dark 
looks,  and  silly  pates  that  must  be  made  safe.  The  hottest 
talkers  for  months  had  been  young  Marylanders,  all  sons  of 
Union  men  !  Each  of  these  I  saw  privately  and  gave  them 
the  option  of  abstinence  from  debates  that  excite,  or  a  return 
at  once  to  their  fathers.  With  jealous  soldiers  all  around,  the 
time  has  gone  by  for  tampering  with  topics  and  emblems  that 
must  provoke  peril.  I  believe  that  the  general  feeling  among 
our  students — and  the  real  Southerners  are  the  foremost  in 
this  good  sense — is  that  which  common  sense  and  conscience 
dictate.  There  is  no  insubordination  and  there  has  not  been 
any ;  there  might  have  been  the  fearful  consequences  of  it 
without  much  warning. 

"Whether  ....  and  how  far  this  necessary  course  may 
provoke  some  who  long  for  another  flag,  is  one  of  those 
questions  that  the  equally  imminent  duty  and  peril  of  the  day 
have  put  out  of  our  concerns.  We  have  (rightly,  I  believe) 
avoided  checking  too  much  young  folks'  progress ;  but  there 
could  be  no  doubt  now  as  to  what  our  course  must  be. 
Thinking  and  quiet  talking  may  and  must  be  allowed ;  but 
bitter  words  and  denunciations  of  flags  are  perilous  now  to 
our  wives  and  little  ones,  as  well  as  to  our   pupils.     The 

College  seems  as  cheerful  and  orderly  as  ever I  fear 

my  prolix  pen  has  wearied  you.  But  this  long  story  may 
serve  to  allay  your  anxieties  for  us,  and  give  you  some  idea 


216  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.        [Chap.  VIII. 

of  our  days  now.    We  think  we  shall  run  through  the  year 

safely 

Bishop  Bowman,  in  a  recent  letter  to  Mr.  Passmore,  speaks 
most  warmly  of  your  course  about  these  times,  etc.,  in  Mary- 
land  We  have  just  81  boys  here  now I  am, 

my  dear  Bishop,  your  loving  son  in  the  Church, 

J.  B.  Kerfoot. 

Bishop  Whittingham's  reply,  dated  June  26th,  is 
largely  taken  up  with  matters  of  College  business. 
At  the  close  of  his  letter  he  says : 

I  was  spared  the  great  uneasiness  the  knowledge  of  your 
"military  occupation" — without  knowing  also  that  it  had 
passed  safely  oft' — would  have  given  me.  Your  graphic  story 
interested  us  (H.  and  me)  none  the  less.  God  be  thanked 
that  the  College  has  thus  far  so  nobly  passed  through  its 
third  great  trial!^  Oh !  may  it  be  the  earnest  of  final 
blessings  of  good  success !     Your  loving, 

W.  R.  Whittinqham. 

The 20th session.  The  College  of  St.  James  reopened  in  October, 
1861  (its  20th  session),  under  sadly  changed  circum- 
stances, with  sixteen  students.  It  was  disheartening, 
indeed,  to  see  the  vacant  seats  in  the  chapel,  and  the 
all  but  empty  class-rooms.  The  number  gradually  in- 
creased, but  never  afterwards  quite  reached  fifty. 
From  among  many  interesting  letters  of  this  time,  this 
chapter  may  conclude  with  the  following,  which  seem 
specially  worthy  of  insertion  in  this  biography: 

1  The  other  two  trials  to  which    ]    hastily  to  disband,  and  the  burn- 


the  Bishop  alludes  were  the  sick- 
ness In  1856,  when  four  students 
died  and  the  College  was  obliged 


ing  of  Kemp  Hall  in  January, 
1857.  To  pestilence  and  Hre,  the 
sword  of  civU  war  was  now  added. 


1861.] 


BISHOP  BOWMAN. 


217 


The  Rev.  Dr.  Kerfoot  to  the  Bishop  of  Maryland. 

....  I  enclose  you  some  slips  from  Philadelphia  and  Lan-  Funtraiof 
caster  papers  that  will  tell  you  all  about  Bishop  Bowman's  ^^any  ^^"' 
decease.  How  ripe  for  his  change  !  and  how  easj'  and  blessed 
that  change !  Passmore,  Coit  and  I  went  on  to  Lancaster. 
I  met  there  the  very  friends  I  had  met  at  his  consecration,  not 
three  years  since.'  2^o  words  can  tell  the  deep  and  real  love 
that  spoke  out  from  every  face  of  the  throngs  in  and  about 
that  parsonage,  church  and  graveyard  that  afternoon.  I 
never  looked  on  any  face  of  the  dead  at  once  so  noble,  strong, 
peaceful  and  sweet 

The  Bishop  of  Maryland  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Kerfoot. 

Baltimore,  Sept.  13,  1861. 

My  Dear  Kerfoot., — On  every  occasion  when  I  have  really  Thanks  Kerfoot 
needed  the  strength  which  after  the  grace  from  above  is  best^^p^jt^^/*^"* ""'' 
aflbrded  by  the  honest,  hearty  approval  of  a  friend  whom  one 
entirely  trusts  and  loves,  I  have  had  it  promptly  and  most 
lovingly  given  from  your  true  heart  and  hand.  I  feel  now 
almost  as  if  I  must  regard  you  as  filling  the  niche  in  my  heart 
vacated  a  year  ago,  when  he  whom  a  third  of  a  century  of 
unbroken  love  had  taught  me  to  know  and  lean  upon,  as  my 
best  friend,  was  taken  from  me.  [His  brother-in-law,  Mr. 
Joel  W.  Condit.] 


1  [From  Dr.  Kerfoot's  diarj': 
"Tuesday,  August  6,  1861.  Left 
home  with  the  Rev.  J.  H.  Coit  for 
Lancaster,  to  attend  dear  Bishop 
Bowman's  funeral.  At  St.  James's 
Church — my  own  first  church- 
home —  met  Drs.  Muhlenberg, 
Wilmer,  Ducachet,  and  Passmore 
and  Mr.  Keith — the  same  I  met 
August  28,  1858,  in  Philadelphia, 
at  Bishop  Bowman's  consecra- 
tion ;    Bishops    Lee    and    Oden- 


heimer,  Urs.  AL,  W.,  D.;  Van 
Deusen,  the  rector  Mr.  Mombert 
and  myself,  in  the  chancel  sharing 
the  services.  I  read  the  resolu- 
tions adopted  by  the  clergy  at  3 
p.  m.  I  looked  at  the  peaceful 
corpse  of  one  of  my  earliest,  best 
friends.  He  was  taken  away  in 
one  moment  from  his  well-done 
work  to  his  rest  and  reward.  In 
the  evening  with  Dr.  Muhlen- 
berg." 


218 


LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.        [Chap.  VIII. 


I  expected  trials  when  the  occasion  came  which  compelled 
me  to  take  the  ground  of  my  late  Pastoral/  and  have  not 
been  disappointed,  although  I  fear  I  have  as  yet  had  only  the 
mere  antepast.  But  even  here  and  now,  such  letters  as 
yours  are  an  ample  compensation  for  all  of  an  opposite  char- 
acter. Some  of  my  brethren  in  oflSce,  too  (Bishops  Upfold, 
Williams  and  Burgess),  have  been  good  enough  to  write  to  me 
very  kindly.  A  few  such  approvals  outweigh  any  number  of 
censures,  of  which  I  perfectly  understand  the  springs  and 
moving  causes.  Unhappily,  almost  every  day  is  adding  to 
the  springs  of  bitterness  in  this  faction-rent  city  and  State. 
Five  minutes  ago  I  was  told  by  a  third  person  of  a  recent 
dialogue  between  poor  Coxe  and  one  of  his  parishioners  : 
"Pray,  sir,  do  you  mean  to  have  your  church  open  on  this 
Lincoln  fast?''  "If  you  mean  the  day  appointed  for  humili- 
ation and  prayer  recommended  by  the  Bishop  of  the  Diocese, 
I  do."  "  Then,  sir,  I  will  never  set  foot  in  the  church  again." 
"  I  shall  be  sorry,  sir,  but  you,  not  I,  will  have  to  answer  for 
the  sin." 

To-day,  too,  oil  is  poured  upon  the  raging  flames  by  the 
arrest,  just  announced,  of  our  poor  friends,  Brown  and  Harri- 
son. I  wish  I  did  not  think  the  measure  just  and  wise. 
Alas !  alas !  when  good  men  like  those  can  be  seduced  into 
measures  and  plans  which  make  their  imprisonment  a  pre- 
caution needful  for  the  public  safety  ! 

I  have  the  great  pleasure  of  sending  you,  with  this,  Abel's 
papers  as  a  candidate.  May  God  bless  you  with  much  com- 
fort in  his  course  and  its  results! 


*  [See  TAfe  of  Bishop  Whitting- 
Jiam,  Vol.  II,  p.  25.  The  Pastoral 
was  an  urgent  appeal  to  all  citi- 
zens of  Maryland  to  regard  the 
position  of  the  State  as  settled  by 
the  late  elections.  Accompany- 
ing it  were  prayers  and  services, 
drawn  up  by  the  Bishop,  which 
he  required  all  the  clergy  to  use 
on  September  26th,  appointed  by 


President  Lincoln  as  a  day  of 
fasting  and  humiliation,  for  sup- 
plication for  success  to  the  Fed- 
eral armies.  The  difficulties  of 
the  question  and  the  hard  posi- 
tion in  which  clergymen  who 
sympathized  with  the  South  were 
placed,  are  well  explained  by  Dr. 
Brand,  who  also  quotes  part  of 
this  letter.] 


1861.]  DIOCESAN  AFFAIRS.  219 

I  have  not  seen  reason  to  change  my  views  as  to  the  prob- 
able course  of  events  and  its  bearing  on  the  condition  of 
St.  James's,  amidst  other  institutions  of  the  kind.  On  the 
contrarj',  the  progress  of  recuperation  is  more  rapid  than  I 
hoped  for.  In  no  respect  has  it  fallen  short  of  my  expecta- 
tion  

With  heartiest  love,  yours  ever, 

W.  R.  Whittingham. 

The  Bishop  oj"  Maryland  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Kerfoot. 

Baltimore,  Oct.  21,  18G1. 

Dear  Kerfoot.,  ....  I  accepted  most  thankfully  your  wise  moce^^ 
suggestion  with  reference  to  calling  a  special  Convention,  «#«"« 
and  lost  no  time  in  writing  to  the  members  of  the  standing 
committee,  asking  their  advice  whether  I  should  call  a 
special  Convention  or  not.  M}'  own  mind  was  made  up,  and 
I  knew  privately  and  unofficially  the  opinion  of  a  majority  of 
the  committee  ;  but  I  did  not  know  their  opinion  as  m}' 
"  Council  of  Advice  ";  and  the  reasons  you  alleged  satisfied 
me  of  the  importance  of  being  so  shielded  against  misrepre- 
sentation, which  I  had  reason  to  know  would  be  made. 
Having  taken  this  step,  I  wanted  to  be  able  to  communicate 
its  result  when  I  should  write  to  you,  and  hence  my  long 
delay  of  answer  to  a  letter  which  stirred  my  feelings  as  few 
others  from  any  quarter  ever  had  done. 

I  received  to-day  the  formal  answer  of  the  fourth  member 
of  the  standing  committee,  being  a  majority,  all  strongly  and 

unhesitatingly  advising  against  a  special  Convention 

Of  course,  then,  a  Convention  for  this  year  is  out  of  the  ques- 
tion. 

While  I  need  not  say  that  the  assurance  of  such  a  disposi- 
tion of  the  matter  relieves  me  mucii,  other  things  are  going 
badly.  I  much  fear  that  Coxe  will  tire  of  his  hard  position, 
in  which,  thus  far,  he  has  been  wonderfully  able  to  sustain 
himself.  Cummins,  I  hear  this  morning,  is  to  go  to  Philadel- 
phia;  Addison   to  Wheeling Thus  man  after  man 

of  the  uninfected  portion  of  the  clergy  is  leaving  the  poor 


sail 


220  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.        [Chap.  VlII. 


Diocese.  What  is  to  become  of  it?  Clirist  Church,  left  by 
Addison,  is  but  too  hkely  to  be  shut  up  and  sold,  if  sale  can 
be  made.  St.  Peter's,  strong  under  Cummins,  is  strong  only 
in  his  popularity,  an  evaporative  strength  which  aflbrds  no 
security  for  the  continuance  of  the  congregation  for  a  month 
after  his  departure.  Mt.  Calvary  hangs  by  the  eyelids ;  all 
four  mission  churches  are  in  no  better  condition.  Certainly, 
the  prospect  of  the  future  of  the  Church  in  Baltimore  could 
hardly  be  worse. 

Unhappily,  the  marvellous  delusion  of  the  people  here, 
making  them  credulous  of  the  possibility  of  an  occupation  of 
Maryland  by  the  rebels,  continues,  apparently,  unabated. 
Nothing  but  great  success,  or  a  long  series  of  successes,  on 
the  part  of  the  Government,  is  likely  to  dispel  it.  Yet,  while 
it  continues,  little  if  any  improvement  of  the  condition  of 
things  generally,  and  most  especially  of  the  Church,  can  be 
hoped  for. 

Never  before  have  I  felt  so  powerless,  aimless,  hopeless,  in 

my  work  as  now.    Thank  God,  it  is  most  true,  though  Milton 

wrote  it, 

They  also  serve  who  wait! 

I  did  not  suspect  you  of  the  generous  effort  so  nobly  made 
in  my  behalf,'  when  I  last  wrote.  Some  of  its  expressions  I 
had  misinterpreted  as  implying  a  lay  condition  of  the  writer. 
When  Coxe  told  me  he  thought  it  must  be  from  your  pen,  I 
said  he  must  be  mistaken.  There  is  none  to  whom  I  would 
rather  be  indebted  for  it  than  to  you ;  but  when  I  spoke  of 
your  seeming  to  me  my  only  resource  for  filling  my  lost 
brother  Joel's  place,  it  was  on  older,  broader,  deeper  grounds 


'  [The  allusion  is  to  an  abusive 
and  ungenerous  attack  upon 
Bishop  Whittingham  in  one  of 
the  Southern  newspapers  of  Balti- 
more.   A  number  of  the  clergy  of 


their  Bishop,  expressing  their  un- 
feigned regret  at  the  publication 
of  the  scandalous  and  unjust 
article.  A  few  days  after  this  a 
long, able  and  affectionate  defence 


Southern  sentiments  chancing  to    !    of  the  Bishop,  from  the  pen  of 


meet  in  Baltimore  a  day  or  two 
after  its  appearance,  they  ad- 
dressed a  sympathizing  letter  to 


Dr.  Kerfoot,  appeared  anony- 
mously in  the  American  news- 
paper.] 


1861.]  LETTER  TO  MR.  CAMPBELL. 


221 


than  any  mere  sense  of  single  benefit,  however  great  and 

tirael}-,  could  afford,  that  I  ventured  so  to  speak 

I  hear  of  your  affairs  indirectly,  favorably.  Yet  you  are 
still  environed  b}'  "war's  alarms."  God  bless  you  all. 
Your  loving 

W.  R.  Whittingham. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Kerfoot  to  James  Mason  Campbell,  Esq.,  Balti- 
more.^ 

College  of  St.  James,  Sept.  30,  18G1. 

My  Dear  Mr.  Campbell, — You  very  correctly  understand  ff'''iff(l.lf^"' 
and  certify  the  past  and  future,  unchangeable  law  and  practice  opinion  at  St. 
of  one  and  all  the  College  officers  on  political  and  civil  ques- 
tions. These  in  no  sense  fall  within  the  scope  of  our  col- 
legiate dut}'  or  right.  The  lessous  and  influences  on  those 
topics  always  have  been  and  shall  be  referred  to  parents. 
The  citizen  or  subject  of  any  State  or  king  on  earth  (of  the 
Sultan  himself,  who  twice  has  had  subjects  here  under  our 
care)  may  come  and  go  without  any  purposed  or  known  in- 
fluence from  us  on  his  political  views  and  conscience.  In 
such  matters  the  College  neither  imposes  nor  allows  any  in- 
structions or  restraints  save  those  of  courtesy,  charity  and 
peace. 

We  rule  ourselves  and  our  families  (those  of  us  who  have 
families)  according  to  our  own  convictions  and  discretion,  as 
freely  as  any  other  citizens.  There  is  and  alwa3'S  has  been 
in  these  respects  variety  as  well  as  freedom  among  us.  So 
there  is  and  has  been  among  our  pupils,  also,  former  and 
present.    This  fact  and  the  (I  believe)  uniform  testimony  of 

parents  justify  your  assertion  regarding  us I  am  very 

respectful!}'  and  truly  yours, 

J.  B.  Kerfoot. 

'  [A  trustee  of  St.  James's  and  son-in-law  of  Chief  Justice  Taney.] 


CHAPTER  IX. 

second  year  of  the  war.     battle  of  antietam. 

1863.    Aetat.  46. 

In  the  previous  chapter  an  attempt  has  been  made 
to  carry  the  reader  back  to  the  exciting  period  that 
immediately  preceded  what  has  been  called  by  a  judi- 
cious and  thoughtful  historian  "probably  the  grandest 
and  saddest  civil  strife  recorded  in  the  annals  of  the 
nineteenth  century.'"  Nothing  can  well  be  more 
vivid  than  diaries  jotted  down  at  the  time  and  letters 
hastily,  but  not  thoughtlessly,  written  between  corre- 
spondents who  were  anxiously  and  conscientiously 
considering  the  momentous  problems  that  month  by 
month,  week  by  week,  and  soon  day  by  day,  presented 
themselves  for  decision.  As  we  look  back  over  the 
great  contest,  we  are  all  able  to  take  a  calmer  and 
more  reasonable  view  of  the  men  who  were  engaged 
in  it  and  of  the  questions  in  dispute ;  we  can  under- 
stand the  doubts  and  perplexities  which  in  those  days 
harassed  and  agonized  all  except  fanatics  on  either 
side,  who  were  carried  away  by  passion  or  seduced  by 
lust  of  power  or  plunder. 
Ebbandfimoof  The  letters  of  Dr.  Kerfoot  give  a  fair  specimen  of 
voiua  /««"'£/•  ^j^g  g]^^  j^jj^  £q^  qI"  fgeiijjg  among  thoughtful  men  all 

.  over  the  country.  Many  prominent  Southern  men, 
not  only  in  Maryland  and  Virginia  and  Kentucky, 
but  in  the  more  distant  States,  earnestly,  nay  passion- 
ately, deprecated  any  severance  of  the  Union  ;  they 

1  History  of  the  United  States,  by  James  Schouler,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  147. 


1862.] 


SECOND  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR. 


223 


denied  its  lawfulness,  and  foresaw  the  dread  conse- 
quences that  must  ensue.  In  the  very  language  of 
Daniel  Webster,  Southerners,  no  less  than  Northerners, 
derided  "  peaceable  secession  "  as  an  "  utter  impossi- 
bility." '  But  when  State  after  State  had  seceded, 
and  the  "  Peace  Conference  "  and  ^'  Crittenden  Com- 
promise "  had  failed,  and  when  in  April,  1861,  war 
had  actually  begun,  even  "  Union  men  "  among  the 
Southerners  felt  as  Gen.  Lee  did — that  they  must  go 
with  their  States  and  defend  their  homes  and  their 
firesides  against  the  armies  that  were  sent  against 
them." 


'  The  aft-quoted  prophetic  pas- 
sage •will  bear  quoting  once 
more:  "Secession!  Peaceable 
secession!  Sir,  your  eyes  and 
mine  are  never  destined  to  see 
that  miracle.  The  dismember- 
ment of  this  vast  country  with- 
out convulsion !  The  breaking 
up  of  the  fountains  of  the  great 
deep  without  ruffling  the  surface ! 
Who  is  so  foolish  (1  beg  every- 
body's pardon)  as  to  expect 
to  see  any  such  thing?  .... 
Peaceable  secession  is  an  utter 

impossibility Peaceable 

secession !  Concurrent  agree- 
ment of  all  the  members  of 
this  great  republic  to  separate! 
A  voluntary  separation,  with 
alimony  on  one  side  and  on  the 
other!  Why,  what  would  be  the 
result  ?  Where  is  the  line  to  be 
drawn  ?  What  States  are  to 
secede?  What  is  to  remain 
American  ?  What  am  I  to  be  ? 
An  American  no  longer  ?  Where 
is  the  flag  of  the  republic  to  re- 


main? Where  is  the  eagle  still 
to  tower?  Or  is  he  to  cower  and 
shrink,  and  fall  to  the  ground  ? 
Why,  sir,  our  ancestors,  our 
fathers  and  our  grandfathers, 
those  of  them  who  are  yet  living 
among  us,  with  prolonged  lives, 
would  rebuke  and  reproach  x;s, 
and  our  children  and  our  grand- 
children would  cry  out  shame 
upon  us,  if  we  of  this  generation 
shoirld  dishonor  these  ensigns  of 
the  power  of  theGoveinmentand 
the  harmony  of  the  Union  which 
is  every  day  felt  among  us  with 
so  much  joy  and  gratitude.  What 
is  to  become  of  the  army  ?  What 
is  to  become  of  the  navy  ?  What 
is  to  become  of  the  public  lands  ? 
How  is  each  of  the  thirty  States 
to  defend  itself?"  etc. — Webster's 
"Seventh  of  March  Speech,"  in 
the  U.  S.  Senate,  1850. 

2  The  following  extract  from  an 
unpublished  letter  of  Gen.  Lee 
(dated  Richmond,  July  27th, 
1861),  to  a  relative  in  Maryland, 


224 


LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT. 


[Chap.  IX. 


On  the  other  hand,  many  Northern  men  were  at 
first  loud  in  their  sympathy  with  the  South.  They 
denounced  interference  with  her  peculiar  institutions 
and  insisted  upon  sufficient  guaranties  being  given  by 
the  party  about,  for  the  first  time,  to  assume  the  reins 
of  government  at  Washington.  Above  all,  they  depre- 
cated war.  President  Buchanan's  last  message  (De- 
cember, 1860),  denying  any  authority  for  making  war 


wiU  show  better  than  anything 
else  how  conscientious  men  like 
him  felt  and  reasoned  when  the 
war  had  begun,  and  their  States 
had  taken  their  side — though  they 
would  have  done  anything  in  their 
power,  and  made  many  sacrifices, 
to  avert  the  strife  and  preserve 
the  Union  as  it  was:  "For  the 
alfection  and  confidence  you  ex- 
press towards  myself  ....  I  am 
extremely  grateful,  and  shall  not 
believe  that  you  will  credit  the 
reports  j'ou  state  are  circulated 
to  my  prejudice — [viz.  :  that  he 
was  at  that  time  without  real 
sympathy  with  the  South,  that 
the  Confederate  authorities  were 
afraid  to  trust  him,  &c.].  I  have 
seen  only  those  you  sent  me. 
They  are  pure  fiction,  without 
the  slightest  foundation  in  any 
particular.  There  has  been  no 
misundei'standing,  no  overslaugh- 
ing, but  the  utmost  harmony  and 
concurrence  in  every  respect.  I 
have  had  no  regrets,  so  far  as  I  am 
concerned,  for  the  past,  and  have 
no  apprehensions  for  the  future. 
1  do  not  pretend  to  see  the  result 
of  this  conflict  into  which  we 
have  been  forced,  but  leave  its 
direction  to  a  merciful  God,  who, 


I  know,  will  not  afflict  us  unnec- 
essarily. As  far  as  my  voice  and 
counsel  go,  it  will  be  continued 
on  our  side  as  long  as  there  is  one 
horse  that  can  carry  his  rider,  and 
one  arm  to  wield  a  sword.  1 
prefer  annihilationto  submission. 
They  may  destroy,  but  I  trust 
will  never  conquer,  us.  I  bear  no 
malice,  have  no  animosities  to 
indulge,  no  selfish  pui-pose  to 
gratify.  My  only  object  is  to  re- 
pel the  invaders  of  our  peace  and 
the  spoilers  of  our  homes.  I 
hope  in  time  they  will  see  the  in- 
justice of  their  course,  and  return 
to  their  better  nature.  Since  my 
arrival  here,  I  have  been  laboring 
arduously  to  organize  our  armies, 
fortify  the  entrances  to  our  rivers, 
and  prepare  for  the  struggle  I 
knew  was  approaching.  The 
battle  of  the  21st  [Bull  Run]  is 
some  evidence  of  our  strength. 
I  should  have  preferred  to  have 
been  there  than  here — not  that  I 
could  have  done  as  well  as  was 
done,  but  I  could  have  struck  for 
my  home  and  country.  The 
President  desired  me  here,  and  I 
am  happy  in  believing  that  all 
was  done  that  could  have  been 
done."  .... 


1862.] 


SECOND  TEAR  OF  THE  WAR. 


225 


upon  a  State  (while  he  equally  denied  the  lawfulness 
of  secession),  well  expressed  a  feeling  widely  prevalent 
in  the  North.  When  events  marched  on,  and  President 
Lincoln  in  April,  1861,  called  for  75,000  three-months 
men  "  to  defend  the  Capital,"  these  Northern  men,  too, 
found  their  place,  and  it  was  naturally  on  the  Union 
side.  Questions  that  had  seemed  hard  to  decide  some 
months  before,  seemed  to  be  settled  by  the  course  of 
affairs.  For  one  reason  or  another,  according  to  the 
bent  of  their  minds  and  the  influences  that  sur- 
rounded them,  they  became  eager  for  the  success  of 
the  United  States  armies,  and  finally  came  to  rejoice 
(as  many  Southerners  have  since  done)  in  the  abolition 
of  slavery,  an  institution  which,  up  to  that  time,  con- 
servative Northern  men  of  all  parties  had  acquiesced 
in  as  an  evil  indeed,  but  one  to  be  borne  with,  under 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  in  the  spirit  of 
Washington,  Madison,  Hamilton,  and  the  fathers  who 
had  drawn  up  that  grand  and  wonderful  document.* 
All  this  has  been  in  some  measure  set  forth  in  the 
very  letters  of  Dr.  Kerfoot,  written  under  varying 
moods  and  strong  feelings  of  the  moment.  These 
letters  show  how  independent  and  manly  was  his 
course ;   how  true   and  just   he  was  in   his  dealings 


'  Few  will  dispute  the  judg- 
ment that  Mr.  Gladstone  has 
pronounced:  "As  the  British 
Constitution  is  the  most  subtle 
organism  -which  has  proceeded 
from  the  womb  and  the  long  gesta- 
tion of  progressive  history,  so  the 
American  Constitution  is,  so  far 
as  1  can  see,  the  most  wonderful 
work  ever  struck  off  at  a  given 
time  by  the  brain  and  purpose  of 


man.  It  has  had  a  century  of 
trial,  under  the  pressure  of  exi- 
gencies caused  by  an  expansion 
unexampled  in  point  of  rapid- 
ity and  range ;  and  its  exemption 
from  formal  change,  though  not 
entire,  has  certainly  proved  the 
sagacity  of  the  constructors,  and 
the  stubborn  strength  of  the  fab- 
ric."— Kin  Beyond  Sea.  Gleanings 
of  Past  Tears,  Vol.  I,  p.  212. 


226  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.  [Chap.  IX. 

with  all ;  how  firm  was  his  final  decision,  and  how 
keenly  he  felt  the  separation  from  old  friends  and  the 
breaking  up  of  the  work  of  his  life,  which  he  so 
ardently  loved.  This  chapter  will,  therefore,  consist 
chiefly  of  further  extracts  from  his  diaries  and  letters 
during  this  sad  and  painful  period.  In  this  way  his 
views  and  thoughts  will  be  given  in  his  own  language, 
and  interesting  traits  of  character  will  be  incidentally 
portrayed.  Moreover,  some  striking  incidents  of  the 
war  and  the  upturning  of  domestic  life  and  business 
will  be  described  as  he  noted  them  at  the  very  time 
and  on  the  very  spot  where  these  memorable  scenes 
occurred. 

Wednesday,  January  1st,  8  minutes  past  12  midnight. — I 
have  just  come  from  our  usual  midnight  service  in  the  chapel. 
A  very  full  congregation  for  our  present  number.  May  God 
bless  all  the  dear  ones  there  and  elsewhere  ! '  .  .  . 

The  scholastic  year  went  on  quietly  enough,  though, 
of    course,    with    greatly   diminished    numbers,    and 

1  [There  are  very  few  entries  for  maining  son,  Mr.  Abel  A.  Kerfoot, 

the  first  part  of  the  jear  1863.     It  was  at  this  time  a  master  in  St. 

was  a  year  of  sorrow.     On  the  Paul's   School,   Concord,   N.   H. 

18th  of  February  Dr.  Kerfoot  was  Dr.   Kerfoot  left    his    family  in 

called  on — for  the  fourth  time —  New  York  and  returned  to  St. 

to  suffer  a  very  severe  domestic  James's    on    the   4th    of  April, 

afHiction.    His  youngest  child,  a  having    first    published    in    the 

most  engaging  little  girl  of  two  Church   Journal   (edited  by  the 


years,  Helena  Kip,  was  taken 
away  rather  unexpectedly  by 
croup.  Early  in  March  the  family 
were  summoned  to  New  York  to 


Rev.  J.  H.  Hopkins)  a  long  and 
able  letter  on  the  financial  affairs 
of  the  General  Theological  Semi- 
nary.    During    the  autumn  his 


the  dying  bed  of  Mrs.  Kerfoot's  brother-in-law.  Dr.  C.  Van  Alen 

father,    Mr.   Abel   T.   Anderson,  Anderson,  died  of  consumption, 

whose  death  occurred  on  March  making  this  a  year  of  peculiarly 

the  23d.    Dr.  Kerfoot's  only  re-  sad  bereavement.] 


1862.]  SECOND  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR.  227 

equally  diminished  income.  On  a  certain  Sunday  in 
April,  Bishop  Whittingham,  in  accordance  with  one  of  £f,„.7^''"-"^a/' 
President  Lincoln's  proclamations,  issued  a  form  oiprayers. 
prayer  and  thanksgiving  for  one  of  the  Federal  fac- 
tories, which,  as  Bishop,  he  required  all  clergymen  to 
use  in  the  public  services  of  the  day.  There  was  great 
excitement  all  over  the  Diocese,  and  the  Bishop's  direc- 
tion, as  well  as  the  canon  under  which  he  acted,  was 
generally  disobeyed.  While  Dr.  Kerfoot  was  himself 
reading  these  prayers,  some  18  or  20  students — 
among  the  most  orderly  and  respectable  in  the 
College — rose  and  left  the  chapel  in  a  body.  This 
unprecedented  occurrence  the  Rector  met  with  con- 
summate tact  and  without  the  slightest  loss  of 
authority  or  personal  dignity.  He  saw  exactly  what 
it  meant,  and  that  it  really  involved  no  insubordina- 
tion to  the  College,  nor  any  disrespect  to  himself.  All 
this  he  stated  in  a  manly  speech  at  dinner,  a  few 
minutes  after  chapel.  Tlius  an  event  which  might 
easily  have  at  once  broken  what  was  left  of  the 
College  to  atoms,  blew  over  and  was  soon  forgotten. 
The  "seceding"  students,  touched  by  the  Rector's 
speech  at  dinner,  voluntarily  addressed  him  a  manly, 
admirable  and  respectful  letter,  explaining  their  con- 
duct and  disclaiming  any  disrespect  to  him  or  the 
College  authorities.  This  document,  which  does  great 
credit  to  the  head  and  heart  of  its  writers,  was  found 
among  Dr.  Kerfoot's  papers,  but  it  is  not  necessary  to 
reproduce  it,  or  the  Rector's  affectionate  reply.  Dr. 
Kerfoot  shortly  after  this  wrote  a  strong  letter  to 
Bishop  Whittingham ;  he  urged  that  on  future  occa- 
sions all  possible  discretion  should  be  expressly  allowed ; 
that  clergy  should  never  again  be  required  to  intro- 


228 


LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT. 


[Chap.  IX. 


The  last  public 
commencement. 


duce  into  the  regular  Sunday  services,  prayers  which 
sometimes  they  and  their  congregations  could  not  (or 
at  any  rate  would  not)  use ;  and  he  pointed  out  that 
any  attempt  which  his  clergy  might  make  to  comply 
with  his  episcopal  directions  would  only  increase  the 
sad  troubles  already  so  rife  in  his  distracted  Diocese.' 
On  July  9th  the  commencement  took  place  quietly, 
almost  privately.  There  were  three  graduates,  Messrs. 
Arthur  George  Brown  and  Robert  John  Coster,  of 
Baltimore,  and  Mr.  Levi  Coit,  of  Plattsburg,  N.  Y. 
A  small  company  assembled  in  Clagett  Hall,  instead 
of  the  usual  gay  gathering  on  the  College  green,  and 
the  Rector  delivered  an  address,  which  was  afterwards 
published.     It  is  worth  while  to  recall  a  few  of  its  sad 


•  On  a  subsequent  occasion, 
when  "President"  Davis  ap- 
pointed a  fast-day  for  the  South- 
ern Confederacy,  it  was  exten- 
sively observed  by  his  devoted 
adherents  m  Maryland,  and  the 
tables  were  turned.  The  South- 
ern students  joyfully  abandoned 
their  games  on  the  playground 
and  thronged  into  the  College 
chapel  to  the  voluntanj  midday 
service.  When  the  Rector  entered 
the  chancel,  he  was  surprised  to 
see,  instead  of  the  usual  ten  or 
twelve,  that  the  chapel  was  al- 
most filled,  and  among  them  he 
noticed,  with  suppressed  amuse- 
ment, not  a  few  who  had  never 
before  darkened  the  chapel  door, 
except  upon  compulsion.  When 
dinner-time  came,  the  fast  was 
strictly,  even  ostentatiously,  ob- 
served.    Knives  and  forks  were 


silent;  roast  beef  and  apple-pie 
for  once  seemed  to  have  lost  their 
charms,  and  while  the  "Union" 
boys  made  the  heartiest  meal  of 
the  session,  the  Southerners  at- 
tempted, with  more  or  less  suc- 
cess, the  feat  which  Shakespeare 
has  pronounced  impossible — viz.: 
to 

. .  cloy  the  hungry  edge  of  appetite 
By  bare  imagination  of  a  feast  I 

Dr.  Kerfoot  gives  a  humorous 
account  of  this  in  a  letter  to 
Bishop  Whittingham.  The  mid- 
day service  happened  to  be  the 
Lita7uj,  and  the  Rector  says  he 
hoped  his  young  friends  entered 
fully  into  the  petition  (which  he 
probably  took  care  to  emphasize 
a  little),  "From  all  sedition, 
privy  conspiracy,  and  rebellion, 
good  Lord  deliver  us  !" 


1862.]  LAST  PUBLIC  COMMENCEMENT.  229 

sentences,  for  this  was  really  the  last  regular  public 
commencement : 

Twenty  years  ago ! — and  our  chapel,  then  about  half  its 
present  length,  witnessed  oui*  opening  service.  Many,  very 
many,  of  the  neighbors  and  frieuds  that  then  met  there  with 
us,  have  passed  away.  There  may  be  here — I  think  there 
are  here  to-day — some  who  were  there  with  our  Bishop  and 
myself  on  Monday,  October  3d,  1842.  The  Bishop  and  I 
remember  the  day  well— its  bright  hopes  and  its  grave 
anxieties.  Both  hopes  and  anxieties  have  met  their  entire 
fulfillment.  Our  work  has  been  greatly  blessed— up  to  most 
of  our  hopes — beyond  them  in  some  respects.  Anxieties 
enough  have  come,  and  have  passed.  We  have  surmounted 
difficulties  the  full  foresight  of  which,  then,  might  have  dis- 
mayed us.  We  have  had  helps,  encouragements  and  successes, 
the  assurance  of  which,  then,  would  have  been  very  pleasant. 
Rarely,  if  ever,  has  a  college  worked  its  way  into  life,  and 
through  twenty  years  of  vigorous  action,  at  so  little  cost  to 
the  beneficence  that  ought  to  place  such  institutions,  and 
usually  does  place  them,  on  some  pecuniary  basis  more  per- 
manent than  their  own  good  fortune,  or  their  confessed  merits, 
from  year  to  year. 

And  two  years  ago,  before  our  civil  troubles  begau,  or 
were  seriously  apprehended,  St.  James's  had  as  fair  and 
ample  a  prospect  of  permanent  and  dignified  success  as 
any  young  college  might  desire.  But  for  these  civil  com- 
motions, I  am  very  confident  that  our  noble  new  edifice  that 
was  to  be,  and  is  to  he,  would  have  been  completed  and 
fully  paid  for.  This  would  have  been  to  us  a  very  bright 
commencement  day,  and  3'et,  too,  an  honestly  sad  one,  in 
view  of  our  removal  then  from  the  pleasant  neighborhood 
and  friends  so  long  familiar  to  us  here.  We  would  now  be 
passing  to  the  proposed  scene  and  home  of  enlarged,  enduring 
college  life  and  work.  I  doubt  not,  too,  that  by  this  time  the 
endowment  fund  then  proposed  would  have  been  well 
advanced,  and  not  far  short  of  its  completion.  And  more 
than  one  hundred  students  would  have  been  now  ready  and 


230  LIFE  OF  BIS30P  KERFOOT.         [Chap.  IX. 

sure  for  our  twenty-first  year.  That  was  the  attainment  and 
the  prospect  God  had  then  given"  us  as  a  College.  He  had  not 
suflered  our  work  here  to  fail  or  die  out.  But  He  has  laid 
upon  us  here  our  due  and  necessary  share  in  the  check  and 
change  His  chastisement  brings  on  all  about  us  now.  "We 
must  wait,  as  enterprises  more  urgent,  more  sacredly  neces- 
sary than  colleges,  must  now  wait.  "We  will  work  on  wldle 
we  wait  His  holy  will.  Just  now  we  believe  His  will  for  us  is 
thus  to  work  on.  Kever  more  than  now  did  the  community 
need  collegiate  homes,  as  free  as  the  prevailing  turmoil  will 
permit  from  the  excitements  of  the  hour.  Those  excitements 
will  destroy,  needlessly  destroy,  many  a  youth.  They  will 
be  a  snare  and  luxury  to  too  many  young  men  who  dislike 
hard,  sober  work.  We  see  this  here— how  the  least  real, 
enduring  and  energetic  take  most  eagerly  to  the  pleasant 
stimulus  of  an  excitement  that  seems  to  them  to  be  a  plausible 
excuse  from  honest  industry  in  daily  tasks.  "Whatever  be  the 
rightful  demands  of  the  hour  on  young  men,  there  ought  to 
be  enough  of  those  worth  the  keeping  for  better  times,  going 
on  with  their  education /or  those  better  times.  It  will  not  do 
for  the  people  to  find  themselves  a  little  while  hence  without 
some  fair  supply  of  cultivated  men.  The  fierce  tasks  of  the 
day  will,  it  is  true,  train  many  men  into  high  degrees  of  excel- 
lence and  efficieuc}'  for  the  requirements  of  our  future.  The 
products  of  the  Christian  College  must,  however,  be  needed 
not  less,  but  far  more,  than  ever,  when  our  society  returns  to 
its  happier  course  of  peace  and  progress. 

It  is  our  hope  and  resolve  to  keep  our  College  alive,  and 
busy  in  so  much  of  this  work  as  God  may  now  send  it ;  and 
ready  for  full  work  when  He  shall  restore  to  us  the  usual 
scope  and  demand  for  it.  To-day  we  choose  not  to  measure 
our  College  by  the  mere  present.  We  think  of  the  seven 
hundred  and  twelve  pupils  who,  through  twenty  years,  have 
been  under  our  tuition.  And  we  remember,  too,  how  often 
the  hours  and  the  youths  that  seemed  to  promise  no  fruit  in 
requital  for  our  efibrts,  have  turned  out  before  our  own  eyes 
the  most  fruitful  hours  and  hearts  in  our  record.  So  do  we 
care  the  less  to-day  that  the  times  have  left  us  but  three 


1862.]  LAST  PUBLIC  COMMENCEMENT.  231 

graduates,  wheu  we  know  that  these  make  up  the  fair,  satisfy- 
ing sum  of  ninety-one  gradua'tes  at  fifteen  commencements. 
We  expect  to  send  out  many  more  good  men  such  as  we  now 
know  among  the  hundreds  who  have  been  here.  But,  even 
if  this  were  not  our  hope  now,  none  of  us  would  deem  the 
past  a  vain  expenditure  of  time  and  work  for  any  of  us. 

It  is  not  in  pride  or  boast  that  we  thus  speak  :  it  is  in  grati- 
tude to  God  ;  it  is  to  justify  Him  from  our  own  experience 
of  His  mercies  here  ;  it  is  to  encourage  and  reassure  our  own 
hearts  and  the  hearts  of  all  who  care  for  us  and  our  work. 
How  the  College  and  its  government  will  bear  itself  amid  the 
strifes  of  the  times,  the  declarations  made  here  a  year  ago, 
and  the  independent,  prudent,  impartial  accomplishment 
since,  suflSciently  show — that  here,  in  harmony,  on  an 
equality,  and  amid  some  fair  measure  of  efficient  working, 
young  men  may  yet  meet  and  live  together,  to  learn  how 
personal  aflections  and  courtesy  ought  to  and  may  smooth 
down  the  ill-tempers  and  distrusts  that  ought  never  to  have 
ariseri.  Is  not  this,  the  one  last  collegiate  home  of  such 
peace  in  this  latitude,  worth  the  eflbrt  to  perpetuate  it?  Is 
it  not  worth  the  mutual  forbearance  and  self-denial  required 
of  you,  mj'  young  friends  ?  May  it  not  be  your  best  discipline 
for  such  tasks  of  peace  and  harmony  in  State  and  Church  as 
your  God  may  have  in  early  store  for  some  of  you  ?  We 
think  of  all  this,  and  so  we  work  on  yet,  and  until  God  bids 
us  stop.  We  hear  no  such  bidding  yet.  And  should  that 
word  come  to  us,  none  the  less  has  the  work  thus  far  done 
been  worth  the  while.  It  will  stand.  It  will  repeat  itself 
through  other  agencies  in  better  times. 

Other  Christian  Colleges,  preceptors  and  pupils  will  grow 
out  of  this  work  here.  The  foundations  are  laid  deep  and 
sure.  The  walls  have  risen  up  high  enough  to  develop  the 
work  and  tell  of  its  full  outline  and  sober  dignity.  Future 
years  and  other  men  must  and  shall  take  up  the  task  and 
complete  it.  So  I  thought  and  felt  as  I  stood,  a  few  weeks 
ago,  and  gazed  on  the  well-developed  and  noble  promise  of 
our  new  College  building.    There  was  hope,  and  there  was 


232  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.  [Chap.  IX. 


rates  crosn  the 
Potninuc 


firm  assurance,  in  the  sight  of  that  strong  beginning  of  a 
massive  home  for  St.  James's.  Sadness  nearly  vanished  then 
in  liope.  The  voice  which  past  and  future  joined  in  uttering 
to  me  that  day  was,  that  work  has  not  been  so  far  done  in 
vain.  There  is  the  sure  outhne,  the  grand  promise.  The 
foundation  is  deep  and  strong,  the  plan  distinct.  The  promise — 
none  may  doubt  it.  That  work  must  and  shall  be  finished. 
God  may  yet  give  us  the  task  and  privilege.  He  will  give 
both  to  some  agents  else,  if  not  to  us.  If  not  we  nor  our 
times,  the  men  that  come  after  us  shall  see  what  was  well 
begun,  and  their  consciences  and  their  hearts  will  compel 
them  to  complete  it. 

Jatls^amftte  During  the  vacation  the  Rector  and  his  family 
remained  at  the  College.  Early  in  September  he 
went  to  New  York  on  business,  but  hurried  back  to 
his  home  on  hearing  that  the  Confederates  had  crossed 
the  Potomac.     The  diary  continues: 

September  6. — Heard  sure  news  of  Confederates  having 
been  all  day  crossing  at  Point  of  Rocks,  28  miles  southeast  of 
us.  Sad  day  and  deep  dishonor  for  our  Government  and  woe 
to  poor  Maryland !' 

Wednesday,  Sept.  10. — Sure  word  came  at  11  o'clock  a.  m. 
that  the  Confederate  forces  of  General  Stonewall  Jackson 
were  advancing  from  Frederick,  and  were  near  Boonsboro. 

Thursday,  Sept.  11. — Early  to-day  General  Jackson's  corps 
were  seen  passing  the  Boonsboro  and  Williamsport  road,  in 
full  sight  of  the  College,  and  are  still  passing  at  2  p.  m. 
All  in  excellent  order  and  quiet.  Colonel  E.  G.  Haywood 
(A.  B.  of  1851),  of  North  Carolina,  John  B.  Lee  (Sophomore 
of  18G1),  of  South  Carolina,  and  a  number  of  other  old  stu- 


>  [On  September 8th,  Dr.Kerfoot 
sent  bis  son  and  eldest  daughter 
to  New  York  with  the  family 
silver  and  other  valuables.    They 


left  Hagerstown  on  the  last  train 
that  went  out  from  that  town  for 
many  days.] 


1  M'^ 


j:,<  09- 

r^     %' 


1862.]  BATTLE  OF  SOUTH  MOUNTAIN.  233 

dents,  came  over  to  see  me.  (Duncan  C.  Haywood,  A.  B. 
1858,  fell  before  Richmond.)  Day  full  of  excitement,  but  all 
were  courteous  and  orderly.  ( Vide  Psalter  and  1st  Lesson 
for  this  day. — Jerem.  xviii.  9, 10.) 

Friday,  Sept.  12. — Late  in  the  day  rumors  of  preparations 
for  a  fight  near  Boonsboro. 

Saturday,  Sept.  13.— Cannonading  early  in  the  direction  of 
Harper's  Ferry.  At  10  to  10 J  heavier  and  nearer.  Cannon- 
ading very  loud  about  12.  (See  1st  verse  of  Psalter  for  day.) 
When  in  chapel,  musketry  heard. 

Thirteenth  Sunday  after  Trinit}*,  September  14. — Read  full 
services  in  chapel  at  10|  a.  m.  and  6  p.  m.  Cannonading,  at 
first  distant,  then  nearer,  from  8  or  9  a.  m.  till  2  p.  m.  Heard 
that  the  United  States  forces  had  driven  Confederates  out  of 
Frederick  yesterday  and  this  side  of  Middletown.  This  firing 
was  on  and  east  of  the  top  of  South  Mountain.  After  2  or 
3  p.  m.  ceased,  and  then  began  again  and  was  heavy  and 
frequent  (every  10  seconds)  towards  Harper's  Ferry  5  to  6 
p.  m.  Reports,  middle  of  the  da}',  "  Harper's  Ferry  taken  "; 
evening,  ''Harper's  Ferry  surrounded,"  and  rumor,  "Cincin- 
nati taken  and  burned  to  the  ground."  Strange,  excited  Sun- 
day. Sabbath !  But  all  safe  here,  so  far,  and  signs  come 
now  that  this  county  and  neighborhood  are  not  to  be  now 
the  seat  of  war  and  battles.  This  morning  we  fully  expected 
this,  and  it  may  come  yet.  Read  TertuUian  and  Greek  Tes- 
tament. * 

9-10  p.  m. — Just  learned,  from  messengers  from  GenoxvLl  Battle  of  Smcth 
Lee's  headquarters,  that  in  the  battle  the  Confederates  hold  ^^«'«*"- 
their  place  on  the  top  and  east  side  of  South  Mountain,  but 
have  had  heavy  losses  of  men.    Hence,  United  States  Army 
must  have  done  well.     Fearful   battle  expected  to-morrow. 
Deus  misereatur ! 

Monday,  Sept.  15. — Momentous  day !  Confederate  artil- 
lery in  large  force  forming  across  the  Boonsboro  road,  one- 
half  mile  southeast  of  us,  at  6J  a.  m.  Prospect  of  battle. 
Filled  trunks  and  put  them  in  the  cellar ;  prepared  to  move 
family.     Soon  found  this  was  retreat  of  Confederates.    Re- 


234  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.  [Chap.  IX. 

treating  all  day  till  3  p.  ra.  About  2600  or  2800  passed 
through  our  grounds.' 

United  States  forces  pursued  Confederates  up  South  Moun- 
tain and  westward  from  the  mountain,  into,  through,  and  this 
side  of  Boonsboro.  Tlie  rout  of  this  section  of  the  Confed- 
erate army  was  complete,  stragglers  passing  till  dark.  Heavy 
cannonading,  from  12  till  dark,  between  General  Lee's,  at 
Keedysville,  and  our  troops  north  of  them,  under  Burnside, 
and,  we  think,  McClellan.  Issue  not  known,  but  confidence 
strong.     So  far,  blessed,  merciful  deliverance  ! 

Dr.  Falk  and  T  go  (D.  Y.)  to-morrow  to  battlefield  to  help 
the  wounded.  Wife  and  Miss  E.  (the  College  housekeeper) 
preparing  bandages  to-night.     God  help  the  wounded  ! 

Tuesday,  Sept.  16. — Sounds  of  battle ;  not  such  as  to  pre- 
vent Dr.  Falk  and  me  going  at  nine  o'clock  to  Boonsboro. 
Took  biscuits,  spirits,  bandages,  tobacco.  Met  Rev.  Mr. 
Edwards'';  he  went  with  us  with  nice  stores  ;  heard  fair  word 
of  McClellan's  army  on  the  way.  Heard  fighting  going  on. 
We  went  toward  Keedysville  till  one  and  a  quarter  miles  from 
Confederate  pickets,  then  turned  back  and  went  to  Boons- 
boro ;  found  there  four  hospitals,  needing  everything ;  full  of 
Confederate  wounded.  Gave  our  supplies  and  arranged  a 
committee  of  supplies  of  both  political  parties.  Then  we 
went  up  South  Mountain  to  battlefield  of  Sunday.  Horrors 
upon  horrors !  The  Confederate  dead  yet  lying  unburied. 
We  saw  a  hundred  or  more,  and  many  more  through  the 
mountain.  A  cabin  on  the  top  crowded  with  fearfully 
wounded  men,  and  outside,  around,  forty  more,  and  the  dead 
in  scores  all  around  it.  My  most  fearful  ideas  of  battlefields 
more  than  fulfilled.  The  daring  assault  by  which  our  men 
stormed  and  took  the  mountain  heights  was  wonderful.  We 
discovered  among  the  Confederate  dead  the  body  of  Colonel 
J.  B.  Strange,  of  Virginia.    His  good  clothes  and  the  traces 

1  [Mrs.  K.  and  others  stood  on  j  the  worn-out,  starving,  wounded 

the  porch  all  day  snpplj'ing  iced  '  men.] 

water,  bandages,  and  all  the  food  i 

in  the  house,  to  the  last  scrap,  to  I  =  [The  rector  at  Hagerstowu.] 


1863.]  BATTLE  OF  ANTIETAM.  235 

of  insignia  (torn  oil")  and  initials  on  his  stockings  we  noticed  ; 
and  we  directed  a  Confederate  chaplain,  who  was  looking  for 
his  remains,  where  to  find  him.     Not  home  till  8  p.  m. 

Wednesday,  Sept.  17. — Awakened  early,  5  to  6,  by  fearful  AntMamju-e 

7thll€S  off' 

cannonading  from  battlefield  (as  yesterday,  but  worse).  We 
watched  it  anxiously  from  top  of  the  College.  At  one  time 
musketry,  fearful  and  prolonged  for  an  hour.  Artillery 
more  than  a  hundred  peals  a  minute.  Both  armies  seemed 
to  hold  ground.  The  noise  lessened  near  noon.  Fearful, 
anxious  morning  !  At  2  p.  m.  Dr.  Falk  and  I  took  bread 
and  biscuits  and  bandages  and  drove  to  the  hospitals  three 
miles  this  side  of  Sharpsburg  (just  in  the  rear  of  the  battle- 
line).  Our  biscuits,  etc.,  most  grateful  to  the  wounded 
men.  We  needed  much  more.  The  battle-lines  were  in 
sight.  We  went  up  nearer  ;  three-fourths  of  a  mile  short  of 
our  batteries  ;  all  the  first  lines  in  full  view.  Strange  sight 
for  us !  We  went  one-fourth  mile  more  beyond  the  place 
which  the  Confederates  held  this  morning.  While  there,  our 
batteries  renewed  terrific  firing.  The  shells  whistled  fear- 
fully. The  terror,  strangeness  and  sadness  were  vast  and 
soul-stirring.  Safe  home  by  six  o'clock.  Terrible  work 
to-morrow! 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Kerfoot  to  Mr.  Abel  A.  Kerfoot. 

Yesterday  (Wednesday)  we  were  early  waked  by  terrible 

cannonading Dr.  Falk  and  I  set  out  to  the  hospitals 

of  this  field  at  1.30  o'clock,  and  three  miles  or  less  from 
Sharpsburg  we  found  the  large  barn  and  house  and  yard  full 
of  suflerers.  The  surgeons  welcomed  our  rolls  and  fresh 
bread.  "  Just  the  thing ;  break  it  up  and  go  around  and  give 
each  man  some,"  said  the  doctor,  and  soon  all  we  had  was 
gone  and  we  needed  twice  as  much  more.  Eager  eyes  and 
hands  (one  was  stretched  towards  us  all  bloody)  were  reached 
towards  us  for  the  light,  fresh  bread.  Some  were  in  agony 
too  great  to  eat 

Near  the  hospital  we  saw  the  line  of  battle  ;  then  we  heard 
the  cheers  of  our  men.    We  left  the  buggy  and  struck  across 


236  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.  [Chap.  IX. 

the  field Our  liue  was,  with  its  batteries,  three-fourths 

of  a  mile  before  us,  in  full  view.  The  advancing  columns  and 
busy  orderlies  and  messengers  were  full  before  us.  Presently 
the  batteries  began  again  a  most  grand  cannonade.  "We  were 
safe,  but  there,  right  before  us,  was  the  great  battle  of  the 
war.  We  could  see  man  by  man  and  hear  the  terrible  whistle 
of  the  shells. 

Dr.  Falk  and  I  wondered  to  find  such  a  sight  really  before 
us.  We  stood  on  a  high  fence  on  a  crest  and  the  battle-line 
was  on  a  crest  three-fourths  of  a  mile  before  us,  not  a  tree 
between,  though  the  woods  before  our  men  shut  out  the  foe 
from  us.  The  ambulances  and  stretchers  we  saw  bringing  in 
their  sad  freight 

Diary. 

Thursday,  Sept.  18. — Strange  lull  of  battle-sounds.  Dr. 
Falk  and  I  went  at  12  o'clock  with  a  quantity  of  fresh 
bread  for  the  wounded.  Met  them  in  wagons  and  on  the  way, 
and  gave  them  most  acceptable  relief;  so  in  two  hospitals. 
Sad,  fearful  scenes  of  suflering  and  death.  Then  on  the  battle- 
field of  yesterday.  National  soldiers  mostly  buried ;  the 
Confederates  lying  in  vast  numbers  dead.  Terrible,  sicken- 
ing sight !  O  God,  arrest  this  war !  Caught  in  violent  rain- 
storm on  the  field.  Found  Howe,  Wharton,  Gormly  (old 
pupils,  of  Pittsburgh,  Pennsylvania)  here  on  our  return. 
Kept  them  to  evening  family  prayer.    Read  91st  Psalm. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Kerfoot  to  Mr.  Abel  A.  Kerfoot. 

Dr.  Falk  and  I  went  again  to  the  hospitals  with  a  large 
supply  of  biscuit.  We  gave  them  all  along  the  way  as  we 
met  ambulances.  Many  touching  thanks  we  had,  and  one 
poor  boy  we  heard  say  to  a  fellow-suflerer  as  he  got  his 
biscuit,  "  Oh,  this  is  like  home."  We  soon  emptied  our  huge 
basket  when  we  reached  the  second  hospital,  and  needed  for 
more.  Here  and  there  we  found  dying  men  needing  and 
accepting  that  bread  that  now  must  be  their  only  sustenance. 


1862.]  BATTLE  OF  ANTIETAM.  237 

One  young  man  courteously  but  peremptorily  repelled  the 
words  of  spiritual  counsel.  We  found  lying  side  by  side  men 
of  both  armies,  of  all  States  and  of  all  grades,  from  colonel 
down.  I  met  one  body  on  its  way  to  the  grave,  and  at  the 
request  of  a  colonel  I  read  our  service.  Every  here  and  there 
were  the  rows  of  new  graves,  with  their  narrow  head  and  foot- 
boards marked.  The  body  I  buried  had  its  rough  board  coffin ; 
most  had  to  be  laid  in  shallow  graves,  and  covered  by  blank- 
ets, etc. 

We  then  drove  on  the  battlefield  of  the  day  before.  The  Thebattiefleia. 
slaughter  had  been  immense.  The  day's  truce  had  been 
asked  by  the  enemy  for  burial.  They  buried  none  of  theirs, 
but  used  the  day  for  retreat.  Our  dead  had  been  mostly 
buried  by  the  hour  we  got  there,  4  to  5  p.  m.  The  rest  of 
ours  lay  there,  each  body  labelled  with  its  name  by  some 
comrade's  care.  I  suppose  we  walked  over  one-fourth  the 
battlefield — wide,  vast,  and  strewn  thick  with  corpses,  in 
every  posture,  single  and  in  groups,  in  the  open  ground,  in 
the  cornfield  or  edge  of  the  woods,  or  under  the  fence  corners. 
This  field  was  less  horrible  than  the  South  Mountain  one. 
There  was  far  greater  slaughter,  but  it  was  less  in  heaps  and 
more  in  open  grounds.  Perhaps  the  most  striking  thing  was 
a  horse,  with  eyes  and  mouth  set  open  with  the  excitement  of 
battle,  upright  on  haunches  and  knees,  as  he  fell  when  shot. 
And  then  close  to  each  other  (once  on  opposite  sides  of  the 
same  tree)  were  groups  of  men,  thirty  or  more  hours  dead^  and 
groups  of  living  men  eager,  busy,  merry,  preparing  and  eating 
their  suppers. 

We  went  unknowingly  up  to  our  own  lines  and  were  going 
on,  when  our  picket  stopped  us.  "There !"  said  he,  pointing 
to  a  wood  one-fourth  of  a  mile  from  us  ;  "don't  you  see  the 
rebels  ?"  Sure  enough,  there  they  were.  Truce  as  it  was,  we 
should  have  been  entitled  to  a  shot  had  we  gone  farther. 
The  rebels  and  their  muskets  were  very  visible.  "Yes," 
added  a  merry  boy,  pointing  to  our  linen  dusters,  "  those 
white  coats  would  make  good  marks,  too." 

Friday,  Sept.  19.— Sick  and  on  the  couch  most  of  the  day. 


238 


LIPE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT. 


[Chap.  IX. 


Mr.  P.  Baldy  and  Earp^^  of  Danville,  came  ;  also  Bakewell 
and  Reuben  Miller,  of  Pittsburgh.  C.  Howe  came  again. 
His  brother-in-law,  Colonel  Childs,  of  Pittsburgh,  was  killed 
on  Wednesday.    A  sad  blow ;  Howe  must  go  home. 

Alarming  rumors  of  rebels  recrossing  the  Potomac.  I  am 
very  prostrate  from  weakness  and  sickness. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Kerfoot  to  Mr.  Abel  A.  Kerfoot. 

....  Saturday  the  rumor  of  crossing  was  confirmed : 
cavalry,  infantry  and  artillery  came  two  miles  this  side  of 
Williamsport.^  General  Couch's  division  came  up,  and  the 
scouts  fought.  Saturday  afternoon  and  all  night  our  infantry 
lay  in  battle-order  in  the  woods  behind  Breathed's  (one-eighth 
of  a  mile  distant,  in  the  direction  of  Williamsport),  their 
artillery  in  front  of  them,  their  cavalry  this  side  of  Andy 
Rowland's.  The  enemy  was  a  short  mile  off  from  them,  and 
they  and  we  expected  a  fight  early  Sunday  morning,  if  not 
before.  Our  men  needed  reinforcements — would  fall  back  to 
meet  them — this  would  bring  the  College  right  in  the  line  of 
their  fire,  perhaps  of  the  battle  ;  so  I  compelled  (for  to  such 
extent  had  your  mamma's  courage  and — discretion — grown, 
she  wanted  to  stay)  an  early  start  to  Hagerstown  by  5.30 
a.  m.  A  man  could  take  care  of  himself  in  such  a  house  as 
this,  but  1  would  not  risk  wife  and  child,  who  could  not 
escape  should  the  College  become  the  point  of  attack  and 
defense.  Our  General  fully  expected  battle  till  mid-morning 
Sunday,  but  the  enemy  recrossed  the  Potomac.  Thirty 
thousand  of  our  men  came  up. 

We  spent  the  day  in  town.  I  did  not  go  to  morning  church, 
but  spent  my  time  very  usefully,  I  hope,  in  the  hospitals. 

Poor  Dr.  Falk  had  a  hard  day  here.  The  newly  come  and 
idle  troops  poured  in  by  thousands.  Ko  guard  had  been  sent 
here,  nor  could  be  got,  till  our  spring-house  had  been  broken 


1  [The  Rev.  Dr.  S.  Earp,  after- 
wards Rector  of  Trinity  Hall, 
Washington,  Pennsylvania.] 


2[A  small  town  on  the  Maryland 
side  of  the  Potomac,  four  miles 
west  from  the  College  of  St. 
James.] 


1862.]  TWENTY-FIRST  SESSION.  239 

open  and  robbed,  our  potato  field  cleaned  out,  and  even  dep- 
redations had  been  done  in  the  College — none  in  the  Rectory. 
At  last  a  guard  came,  and  we  have  a  very  good  one  now. 
And  tho'  thousands  of  men  have  swarmed  all  day  here,  and 
our  spring  is  one  long  wash-house  and  bath-place,  we  are 
very  safe.  Only  about  one  division  are  near  us,  and  the  poor 
fellows  have  been  for  weeks  away  from  water  to  wash  in. 
We  are  packing  for  New  York,  and  shall  get  off  by  the  end 
of  the  week,  we  hope. 

Diary. 

Wednesday,  Sept.  24th. — Twenty-first  session  was  to  have 
begun  to-day!  God  rules  most  wisely!  We  wait  His  will. 
Sent  out  circulars  of  postponement  of  opening  to  early  or 
middle  part  of  November. 

15th  Sunday  after  Trinity,  Sept.  28th.— At  9  o'clock,  left 
College  for  Major-General  Porter's  headquarters,  one  mile 
southwest  of  Sharpsburg,  and  then  had  service  and  preached 
(St.  Matt.  vi.  34).  Visited  hospitals.  Chiefly  Confederate 
wounded.  At  3  p.  m.  rode  with  General  Porter  to  General 
McClellan's  headquarters,  three  miles  south  of  Sharpsburg. 
Service  and  sermon  at  5.30  o'clock.  (Sermon  on  "  Rainbow.") 
Pleasant,  useful  day.  Rode  home  through  Antietam  battle- 
field by  moonlight.  Lovely,  solemn  ride.  O  God,  soon 
end  this  war !  Saw  much  of  General  McClellan.  He  is  a 
deeply  devout,  believing  man.  To-morrow,  Deo  volente,  we 
setfout  for  New  York. 

Wednesday,  Oct.  22d,  New  York.— To  Flushing,  the  Old 
Church,  and  Institute  and  College  Point,  with  Dr.  Muhlen- 
berg. Dined  with  Mrs.  Chisholm.  Went  all  over  the  old 
buildings. 

Wednesday,  Nov.  12th,  St.  James's.— First  day  of  twenty-  Twenty-first 
first  session.    Twenty-four  boys  here,  so  far— far  more  than*^*^^"- 
we  had  dared  to  hope. 

Saturday,  Nov.  15th.— Went  with  all  the  boys,  and  Drs. 
Falk,  Schafi"  and  Mr.  Coit,  over  the  Antietam  battlefield. 
Visited  Carlyle  Norris,  an  old  pupil,  badly  wounded.  Com- 
municants' meeting  6.30  p.  m.  Eleven  out  of  thirty  are  com- 
municants. 


240  LIFE  OF  BISSOP  KFRFOOT.  [Chap.  IX. 

During  the  remainder  of  the  year  he  was  busy  with 
the  routine  of  College  work,  but  gave  every  spare 
hour  to  the  hospitals,  where  his  bright,  cheerful  face 
and  striking  figure  soon  became  familiar  and  most 
welcome.  His  strong,  personal  faith ;  his  tender, 
almost  womanly,  sympathy ;  the  unfaltering,  inspiring 
confidence  and  firm  voice  with  which  he  would  pro- 
nounce to  the  penitent "  the  absolution  and  remission  " 
of  his  sins;  his  longing  to  dispense  wherever  he 
could  the  consolations  of  the  Gospel;  his  unquestion- 
ing trust  in  the  goodness  of  the  one  God  and  Father 
and  Saviour  of  all,  made  his  visitations  of  the  sick 
most  acceptable  and  comforting  to  the  poor  soldier, 
dying  unknown  and  desolate,  far  from  home  and 
friends.  Now  and  then,  too,  among  both  Union  and 
Confederate  wounded,  he  would  come  across  an  old 
pupil,  and  the  meeting  would  awaken  in  each  the 
most  affectionate  recollections.  On  Christmas  Day 
(1862)  he  held  a  bright  service  in  the  Smoketown 
Hospital  of  the  Antietam  battlefield  :  "  I  went  out 
with  S.  Earp,  and  had  service  in  the  chapel  there  (a 
large  tent).  A  sweet,  blessed  day !  Sad,  sweet 
memories  of  darling  Helen  and  our  other  little  ones 
at  rest."  The  year  1862  concludes  with  the  following 
entry,  made  just  before  the  customary  midnight  ser- 
vices : 

Dec.  31st,  11.45  p.  m God  be  thanked !    May  He 

forgive  me  and  mine  for  Christ's  sake.    My  little  Helen  at 
rest.    O  !  keep  us  all ! — K.,  A.,  A.  and  L. 

Correspondence. 

From  the  letters  of  this  year,  room  can  be  found 
for  only  a  few  of  the  most  interesting. 


1862.]  CORRESPONDENCE.  241 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Kerfoot  to  Abel  A.  Kerfoot. 

Sunday,  Jan.  15th,  1862. 

My  Own  Dear  5on,— Your  letter  of  the  15th  came  last 
evening.  We  too  are  counting  the  days  gone  by  since  you 
left  us,  and  till  you  come  to  us  again.  I  am  so  sure  that  vfe 
all  did  wisel}'— you  and  I— that  I  am  only  more  and  more 
satisfied.  I  am  beginning  to  get  used  to  being  lonely.  [Re- 
ferring to  his  son's  becoming  a  tutor  in  St.  Paul's  School,  in 
New  Hampshire.] 

I  see  from  your  letter  (and  you  must  always  let  3'ourself  ^^^^c^  ^a 
and  your  feelings  freely  out  to  me)  that  some  sense  o'i  young  teacher. 
depression  had  come.  You  were  measuring  yourself  and 
your  success  not  so  liberally  as  at  other  times.  I  know  all 
about  that.  I  went  through  it,  and  have  seen  many  a  one 
since  go  through  it,  and  hy  it  become  a  man,  self-knowing, 
self-ruling,  self- exacting.  We  all  have  in  us  enough  to 
humble  us  ;  but  in  such  moods  as  you  wrote  in,  we  may  do 
even  ourselves  injustice.  The  points  we  dwell  upon  are 
exaggerated.  The  good  points  are  dimly  seen.  For  we  all 
have  good  points.  And  if,  out  of  such  hours,  we  could  walk 
at  once  into  the  hearts  of  those  about  us,  and  get  at  their  real, 
present  views  and  feelings  about  us,  we  should  often  be  most 
agreeably  surprised  to  find  that  their  and  our  estimates  of 
ourselves  and  our  doings  and  our  successes  were  very  difler- 
ent.  Their  cheerful  ideas  of  us  would  scatter  our  gloom. 
All  this  I  learned  long  ago,  and  I  have  lived  years  enough  to 
see  proof  after  proof  that  just  when  /  had  been  most  de- 
sponding, others  had  thought  most  favorably  and  hopefully  of 
my  work.  Some  of  our  most  successful  tutors  and  professors 
here  now,  whose  success  would  exceed  all  your  hopes,  were, 
I  think,  much  less  fortunate  at  first  than  you  have  been  thus 
far.  Mr.  H.  A.  Coit  wrote  to  his  brother  very  hopefully  of 
your  prospects  as  a  tutor,  and  very  warmly  of  his  liking  for 
yourself— your  mind  and  character.  A.  B.,  whom  I  asked 
to  tell  me  candidly  what  he  had  learned  of  you  at  St.  Paul's, 
says — everything  favorable.  You  were  quite  successful,  indeed 


242  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.  [Chap.  IX. 

quite  popular,  among  the  boys.    This  your  own  letters  have 
led  me  to  infer  pretty  confidently. 

I  know  that  your  mind  is  well  trained  so  far,  and  your 
scholarship  real  and  accurate,  so  far.  These  facts  win 
respect  and  confidence  from  pupils.  If,  then,  they  see  you 
painstaking,  thorough,  interested  in  them  and  their  progress, 
the  sense  of  reality  works  good  will  and  respect.  Put  on  no 
dignity,  but  he  self-respectful,  scrupulously  neat,  trim, 
courteous  and  aflable.  You  did  the  very  thing  to  work 
at  the  Christmas  tree.  Do  anything  of  that  sort  heartily, 
and  enjoy  it.  Eead  and  study  zealously  and  intelli- 
gently: you  gain  within  and  without.  For  boys  respect  a 
diligent  student.  Expect  some  annoyances  and  some  unkiad- 
nesses,  and  some  failures—faults  of  your  own.  These  must 
come.  No  matter :  they  ^0  aica?/,  ioo.  When  youare"  down," 
— UP  and  take  a  walk,  a  game,  a  bright  book,  a  good  novel,  or 
a  merrj'  romp.  Always,  and  lovingly,  pray,  my  darling  boy. 
There  there  is  sure  help  and  hope.  Your  Father  in  Heaven 
knows  your  heart  and  its  secrets  and  its  needs,  and  He  will 
hear,  help  and  cheer  you  any  moment  you  ask  Him. 

The  Rev,  Dr.  Kerfoot  to  the  Bishop  of  Maryland. 

February  19,  1862. 

Death  of  Ms  My  Dear  Bishop, — We  have  once  more — the  fourth  time  in 
Helen.  Aetai.  less  than  eleven  years — been  bereaved  of  a  dear  child.  Our 
two  years.  j-^.^^  Helen,  two  years  old  on  December  30th,  died  of  cioup 
yesterday  morning.  Symptoms  that  made  us  vigilant  some 
days  before,  and  which  had  yielded  in  great  measure  to  the 
doctor's  remedies  (so  much  that  we  had  deemed  his  daily  visit 
not  needed),  retui'ned  on  Monday.  Not  even  then  did  he  or  we 
anticipate  such  a  result,  though  the  doctor  decided  of  his  own 
motion  to  stay  here  Monday  night.  His  preventive  eflbrts 
were  in  vain,  and  about  one  or  two  o'clock  he  had  to  increase 
their  vigor,  croup  then  showing  itself.  Just  before  8  o'clock 
yesterday  morning  our  little  one  expired.  It  was  a  sorrow 
we  had  not  anticipated.    Three  had  left  our  home  circle,  and 


1862.]  CORRESPONDENCE,  243 

one  cuuid  uoL  help  tiiiuking  that  that  would  be  our  share  of 
such  trial.  This  little  one  was  strong  and  vigorous — more  so 
than  any  of  our  seven.    And  we  always  thought  her  the 

brightest  of  them  all One  night  changes  all  our  vain 

hopes  and  plans I   am,   my  very  dear  friend  and 

Bishop,  most  heartily,  your  loving  son, 

J.  B.  Kerfoot. 

The  Bishop  of  Maryland  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Kerfoot. 

Baltimore,  Feb.  22,  1862. 

My  Dear  Kerfoot^ — I  had  heard  of  your  sore  trial,  by 
Kichard's  information,  the  day  before  yesterday,  and  so  was 
prepared  for  the  sad  and  most  touching  letter  which  came  to 
hand  yesterday.  Surely  it  is  the  same  Fatherly  love  which  is 
so  training  you,  as  dear  children,  that  enables  your  dear  wife 
under  her  fearfully  heavy  burden  to  bear  up  and  be  your 
comfort  and  example !  He  who  is  chastening,  for  your  good, 
is  doubtless  with  you,  in  a  more  especial  presence  and  power 
of  the  Spirit,  for  your  strengtheuiug  and  support. 

Only  this  day  week  your  earlier  letter  came  to  me,  with  all 
its  kind  expressions,  and  cheering  statements  and  anticipa- 
tions, like  a  refreshing  draught  to  a  thirsty  soul,  with  only 
one  little  clause  of  doubtful  import ;  and  so  few  days  have 
changed  the  scene  so  much !  It  is  a  strangely  mingled  cup 
which  Providence  presents  to  the  lips  of  all 

Through  ill  success  and  good  success,  through  hindrances 
and  gleams  of  retm-ning  prosperity,  in  struggles  with  want  of 
means  and  aids,  and  in  thankful  exultation  at  being  strength- 
ened and  supplied  without  them,  your  daily  toil  and  nightly 
study  are  still  to  prepare  and  polish  jewels  for  the  Master's 
crown ;  and  He  sends  for  one,  at  His  own  time,  to  lay  it  up 
in  the  treasure-house,  where  it  is  safe  forever.  It  is  bereave- 
ment, it  is  loss,  it  is  poignant  suffering  for  the  time  ;  but  it  is 
all  the  one  glorious  work  of  redemption  and  salvation,  work- 
ing in  and  for  you  and  yours,  and  tlirough  you,  in  your  labors 
and  your  suflerings  alike,  for  others 

Please  say  to  Abel  that  his  last  letter  gave  me  much  satis- 


244  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.  [Chap.  IX. 

faction,  as  being  all  that  I  ought  to  expect,  and  just  what  I 
did  expect,  from  him. 

Mrs.  H.  Kennedy  told  my  daughters  yesterday  that  she 
thought  change  of  air  would  be  beneficial  to  Katie.  We  all 
join  in  entreating  Mrs.  Kerfoot  to  come  here  and  tr}'  it. 
Mrs.  W.  will  be  home  (God  willing)  on  Monday ;  and  it  will 
be  a  real  kindness  to  us  to  give  us  the  chance  of  trying  to 
divert  Mrs.  K.'s  thoughts  from  the  painful  scenes  through 
which  she  has  been  passing,  by  aiding  in  her  attentions  to 
your  sweet,  surviving  blessing. 

Remember  us  kindly  to  Abel  and  A.,  to  your  respected  and 
beloved  associates  in  trust  and  cares,  and  to  Dr.  Evans. 
Ever  lovingly  and  gratefully  yours, 

W.  R.  Whittingham. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Kerfoot  to  the  Bishop  of  Maryland. 

March  3,  1862. 
My  Dear  Bishop  and  Friend., — Your  loving  and  wholesome 

letter  gave  all  the  comfort  joxx.  meant  it  should This 

night  it  is  just  a  fortnight  since  we  battled  for  our  little  one 
from  midnight  till  day.  We  have  been  strangely  helped. 
Our  house  has  been  sobered,  but  not  made  gloomy.  We  miss 
the  little  feet,  busy  and  active,  and  the  merry  voice  and  mis- 
chief every  hour  and  every  place.  Still,  what  would  have 
seemed  to  us  in  advance  as  the  hardest  blow  to  meet  of  all 
we  have  known,  has  thus  far  not  proved  so.  We  trust  this  is 
our  Heavenly  Father's  hand.  May  He  make  sure  to  us  the 
medicine  for  sin  He  has  meant  we  should  find  in  this  sorrow  ! 
....  Saturday  I  was  46  years  old  ;  twenty-five  years  a  man 
and  a  clergyman.  I  wrote  my  "•  quarter  of  a  century  "  sermon 
and  preached  it  yesterday  afternoon.  How  many  thoughts, 
grateful,  penitent,  humbling,  hopeful,  resolute,  such  a  review 
ought  to  beget ! 
Gen.  Fit^ohn  Gen.  Fitzjohn  Porter  got  leave  of  absence  from  his  division 
(15,000  men)  long  enough  to  run  up  here  to  see  his  sick 
mother,  just  one  hour,  on  Tuesday  last.  He  came  very 
anxious,  but  went  away  hopeful  about  her.    He  has  always 


1862.]  CORRESPONDENCE.  245 


been  a  loving,  dutiful  son.  He  is  a  devout  Christian.  As  he 
was  parting  with  her,  she  very  sick,  he  on  the  eve  of  battles, 
I  knelt  with  him  by  her  bedside,  and  asked  for  each  what 
they  would  ask  for  each  other  and  themselves,  and  then  gave 
them  their  Lord's  blessing  of  peace.  It  was  a  moment  of 
very  rare  reality  in  life.  And  I  felt  that  the  quiet,  resolute 
soldier,  who  could  thus  weep  streaming  tears  as  he  left  his 
mother,  might  well  wield  the  power  his  dreadful  office  would 
give  him  over  the  lives  of  friends  and  enemies.  Gen.  Porter's 
Mexican  history  placed  him  among  the  bravest  of  our  officers. 
His  wife  and  two  3'oung  children  are  in  New  York.  Generals 
McClellan  and  Albert  Sidneij  Johnston  were  godfathers  to  his 
oldest  child  only  two  j'ears  ago 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Kerfoot  to  an  old  pupil. 

College  of  St.  James,  April  28,  1862. 
My   Dear   H. — Mr.    C.   showed    me   some   parts   of  yonv  Explaining  Ms 
letter  to  him.     You  say  some  folks  in  Baltimore  y;ox\^eve.di  i)oys"waiked out 
why  Dr.  Kerfoot  rose  up  in  the  chapel  and  said  anything. ''^ '-''^"^^• 
The  true  reason,  I  suppose,  was  that  Dr.  K.  abvays  rises  up 
at  once  and  speaks  out  when  occasion  demands.     But  for 
that,  St.  James's  would  have  needed  other  ruling  long  ago. 
What  I  said  was  simply  a  pastoral  admonition,  explaining 
that  clergymen  and  congregations  ought  to  obey  the  canoni- 
cal directions  of  the  Bishop,  etc.> 


1  [Among  other  things,  Dr.  Ker- 
foot said  that  if  he,  with  his  pres- 
ent views,  found  himself  in  one 
of  the  States  of  the  Southern  Con- 
federacy, and  the  Bishop  of  the 
Diocese  issued  prayers  which 
only  Southerners  could  honestly 
pray,  he  would  not  feel  bound  to 
disturb  the  congregation  bv  with- 


people  in  Maryland  who  dis- 
sented from  Bishop  Whitting- 
ham  might  do,  etc.  It  is  need- 
less to  add  that  this  was  far  from 
being  the  view  accepted  by  the 
majority  of  church  people  in 
Maryland,  in  those  days  of  ex- 
cited feeling.  The  services  ap- 
pointed by  Bishop  Whittingham 


drawing;  he  would  attend  church  |  (which    he    considered    himself 

on  Sunday,  as  usual,  and  simply  \  bound  to  appoint)  caused  intense 

withhold  his  "Amen"  from  those  j  bitterness    of   feeling,   which    it 

prayers.     And  this  he  thought  |  took    years    to    allay.      In   the 


246 


LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT. 


[Chap.  IX. 


But,  as  I  told  you  here,  at  the  time,  it  would  be  unreal  and 
nonsensical  for  me  to  fancy  or  try  to  make  out  that  the  act, 
which  I  was  bound  in  every  x*elation  to  try  to  check,  was  not  a 
refusal  to  obey  academic  rule  and  authority.  It  was  this,  and 
a  successful  one ;  i.  e.,  they  went  through  with  it,  and  my 
oflBcial  and  personal  control  did  fail.  It  is  mere  moonshine 
to  try  to  talk  this  fact  out  of  being.  I  did  my  duty — ^just 
what  I  now  am  thankful  I  did.  I  made  no  provision  for 
error ;  I  met  it  when  it  showed  itself.  I  met  it  kindly, 
promptly,  frankly,  justly,  tenderly.  I  saw  and  said  it  was 
wrong,  but  a  wrong  done  under  a  mistake  and  examples  that 
reduced  the  wrong  as  done  here  by  them  to  nearly  nothing. 
The  little  that  was  left  I  forgave  at  once  and  fully.  You 
know  how  they  wrote  to  me,  and  I  enclose  the  answer  I  read 
on  Easter  Tuesday  in  chapel.  We  had  a  conference  of  the 
Faculty  on  Monday  evening,  and  resolutions  brought  in  and 
passed  by  the  others  take  the  very  ground  I  had  taken  in  this 
response  written  by  me,  beforehand,  that  day  and  approved 
by  the  Faculty.  I  send  you  a  copy  for  any  private,  prudent 
use  you  please.  I  trust  your  discretion,  and  wish  you  to  use 
the  paper. 

You  befog  the  Bishop,  or  he  befogs  you.'  "7n/bro  con- 
scienti(B"  he  meant  us  to  be  bound.  I  know  no  court  but 
that  of  conscience  in  which  I  obey  my  Bishop.  The  fear  of 
ecclesiastical  trial  and  penalty — the  only  other  constraint — I 


North,  some  few  of  the  Bishops 
felt  able  to  pursue  a  more  mod- 
erate, and  certainly  more  conven- 
ient, course.  They  issued  several 
prayers,  some  distinctly  suited 
to  ardent  sympathizers  with  the 
Government;  others,  "non-com- 
mittal" prayers  for  peace,  etc., 
leaving  all  results  in  the  hands 
of  the  Omnipotent  King  of  kings. 
The  clergy  were  requested  to  use 
one  or  more  of  these  prayers,  as  in 
their  discretion  might  seem  ad- 
visable.] 


1  [The  Bishop  had  said,  in  con- 
versation with  Dr.  Kerfoot's  cor- 
respondent, something  like  this : 
that  he  had  not  absolutely  re- 
quired the  prayers  to  be  used  :  he 
had  issued  them  under  the  canon 
and  left  it  to  the  conscience  of 
each  clergyman  to  use  them  as 
the  canon  directed ;  and  that 
Dr.  Kerfoot  had  acted  just  as 
he  supposed  all  clergymen 
loyal  to  Church  and  State  would 
act.] 


1862.]  CORRESPONDENCE.  247 

hope  and  mean  never  to  be  the  motive  or  line  of  my  duty  as 
a  presbyter.  Whenever  I  cannot  obey  my  Bishop  without " 
sin  to  7«g,  I  will  obey  God  and  my  conscience  and  take  "the 
trial."  But  for  all  probable  cases  I  neither  expect  nor  desire 
to  know  any  law  or  fear  any  sentence  save  those  promulged 
'•Hnforo  conscientice.^^  If  my  Bishop  can  bind  me  there,  he 
need  look  for  {because  he  can  find)  no  stronger  bond. 

Give  my  love  to  all  your  dear  circle — your  dear  old  grand- 
mother, your  parents  .... 

All  well  here  except  Mr.  Waddell;'  he  is  not  well,  nor  safe 
from  peril  of  pulmonary  disease.  A  letter  from  Mrs.  Kerfoot 
says  all  are  well  except  her  brother.  Good-bye,  dear  H. ; 
don't  catch  the  infection  any  more  deeply.  You  are  a  good, 
honest  fellow,  and  must  take  civil  diseases  lightly!  May 
God,  mercifully,  soon  bring  us  all  right  and  all  one  again! 

Your  loving  friend, 

J.  B.  Kebfoot. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Kerfoot  to  Mr.  Abel  A.  Kerfoot. 

Baltimore,  11.15  p.  m.,  June  18,  1862. 

Your  note  found  me  here,  my  own  dear  son,  and  I  shall 
not  get  home  till  Saturday 

I  have  seen  people  here  freely,  and  especially  our  "  Seces-  xjie  College  to 
sion"  trustees,  and  have  put  the  question  directly:  "We^*"*"- 
(t.  e.,  the  Rector  and  Professors)  are  unchangeably  Union  men ; 
we  have  worked  and  will  work  the  College  for  little  or  for  no 
pay  to  keep  it  alive; — what  will  you  do?     Are  we  to  infer 
from  the  Diocesan  Convention^  that  three-fourths  of  chmxh- 

*  [One  ofthe  tutors,  a  graduate  of  i    drew  every  one  to  him.    His  nar- 


the  College.  He  was  the  nephew 
of  Major-GeneralFitzjohn  Porter, 
and  was  much  loved  by  all  the 
community  of  the  College  for  his 
many  amiable  traits,  his  sterling 
goodness,  and  his  intellectual 
promise.  His  lameness  and  long- 
continued  ill-health  threw  an  ad- 


row  escape  at  the  burning  of 
"Kemp  Hall"  has  been  already 
mentioned,  p.  182.] 

"^  [In  which  Union  men  had  been 
removed  from  the  Standing  Com- 
mittee, etc.,  for  reasons  which 
are  well  explained  in  Brand'sLi/e 
of  Bishop  WhiUingham,Yol.  II,  p. 


ditional  interest  around  him,  and       30,  etc.] 


248  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.  [Chap.  IX. 


folk  will  give  us  only  indifference  or  cold  support,  or  even  be 
inimical?  Will  you  endorse  and  recommend  the  College 
openly?"  etc. 

Most  cordial  and  unqualified  was  the  response  everywhere. 
The  College,  its  management  and  its  Rector,  were  never  more 
trusted,  and  the  lay  trustees  will  come  out  in  open,  printed 
endorsement  and  aid.  All  everywhere  say  this.  Here  in 
Mrs.  H.'s  I  meet  more  and  warmer  love  than  ever.  I  move 
as  an  open  Unionist  almost  wholly  among  out-and-out 
"  Secessionists,"  and  never  met  more  or  more  cordial  respect. 
I  have  just  been  in  Washington.  The  same  there.  I  had 
President  occasion  to  see  Mr.  Stanton  ;  and  Mr.  Lincoln  coming  in  at 
■  the  time,  I  had  the  honor  of  an  introduction.  His  like- 
nesses are  true,  but  his  face  impressed  me  as  that  of  a  strong, 
honest,  careworn  man.  I  could  reverence  and  trust  his 
face  and  mien  far  more  than  those  of  some  handsomer  and 
more  graceful  men  I  have  seen  in  high  places. 

Sunday  last  I  preached  at  the  ordination  in  Grace  Church 
in  the  morning,  at  St.  Luke's  in  the  afternoon,  and  then,  at 
6  o'clock  p.  m.,  to  the  New  York  19th  Regiment,  encamped 
near  Baltimore.  The  men  were  a  very  reverent  congregation, 
as  we  stood  under  the  trees  that  sweet,  bright  evening.  But 
good-night,  my  own  dear  son.     Your  loving  father. 

The  Bishop  of  Maryland  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Kerfoot. 

Baltimore,  July  18th,  1862. 

My  Dear  Kerfoot^ —  ....  I  got  down '  much  more  com- 
fortably than  up,  but  have  been  quite  a  cripple  ever  since.  Able 
to  officiate  last  Sunday,  and  see  some  people  stamp  out  of 
church  at  my  approach 

....  Ugly  reports  are  flying  thickly  here,  and  there  is  a 
good  deal  of  unrest  and  dissatisfaction  even  among  soi-disant 
"  Union  men."  People  talk  of  secret  drillings,  concealed 
arms,  returned  soldiers  and  officers  of  the  rebel  army  skulking 
about,  and  concerted  risings.  A  new  flood  of  armed  men 
from  the  North  is  needed  to  check  this. 

» [From  the  College  where  he  had  been  attending  commencement.] 


1862.]  CORRESPONDENCE.  249 

B.,  of  Louisiana,  called  day  before  yesterday.  Left  IT. 
O.  on  20th  ult.  Has  been  in  retirement  since  August  last, 
having  refused  to  pray  for  the  Confederate  States.  Says  he 
has  no  doubt  of  the  majority  of  Unionists  in  Louisiana,  but 
that  they  are  thoroughly  and  completely  cowed  by  the  bitter 
tyranny  to  which  they  have  been  subject,  and  cannot  be 
counted  on  until  the  United  States  shall  have  hopelessly 
ruined  the  rebel  power.  H.  D.,  of  Talbot  Co.,  just  returned 
from  Georgia,  says  much  the  same.  All  here  well  as  usual, 
but  Mrs.  W.  is  much  out  of  spirits.  She  and  the  girls  scolded 
me  severely  (and,  unhappily,  I  deserved  it)  for  my  gross 
remissness  in  not  having  been  in  to  see  Mrs.  K.  Pray  inter- 
cede with  her  to  forgive  me.     Ever  her  and  your  loving  friend, 

W.  R.  Whittingham. 

The  Bishop  of  Maryland  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Kerfoot. 

Baltimore,  Sept.  23d,  1862. 

Dear  Kerfoot, — With  interest  and  anxiety  I  bave  ''oe&n  After  Antietam. 
watching  and  seeking  after  every  mode  of  getting  tidings 
from  you  ever  since  the  receipt  of  your  hurried  note  of  Wed- 
nesday, the  lOtli,  and  of  Abel's  slightly  more  recent  commu- 
nication from  New  York  on  the  10th.  Both  you  and  he 
speak  of  your  intended  movement  towards  New  York,  but 
that  I  suppose  to  have  been  hopelessly  broken  ofi'  by  the 
movement  of  the  enemy  in  your  direction  on  the  12th.  [The 
Bishop  then  speaks  of  a  rumor,  which,  however,  proved  to 
be  erroneous,  that  the  College  had  been  turned  into  a  large 
hospital  for  the  Confederate  wounded.] 

I  urged  Hall  Harrison  and  Coster  to  go  up,  to  serve  you,  if 
possible,  either  in  the  ministries  of  mercy  to  which  I  knew 
you  would  give  yourself,  or  in  the  humbler,  but  still  bounden, 
duty  of  looking  after  everything  for  preservation,  if  possible. 
But  they  could  not  get  to  the  College.  Harrison  was  turned 
back  from  Chambersburg,  and  Coster  was  discouraged  from 
adventuring  by  what  he  could  learn  here. 

One  line  of  a  correspondent's  letter,  in  which  he  speaks  of 
the  College  as  a  "  Catholic  Seminary  made  one  vast  hospital," 


250  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.  [Chap.  IX. 

is  all  I  have  been  able  to  learn  of  the  condition  of  the  institu- 
tion.   It  does  not  allay  our  fears. 

Is  there  any  remaining  prospect  of  a  possibility  of  resuming 
work?  .... 

Oh  how  have  I  been  with  you  in  spirit  in  your  cares  and 
griefs  !  It  has  seemed  to  blunt  my  perceptions  of  all  else  in 
the  tremendous  and  momentous  struggle.  How  wonderful 
that  that  struggle  should  have  been  brought  round,  at  last,  to 
occupy  our  poor  College  almost  as  its  very  centre-point! 
How  incredible  that  ihere  the  crisis  of  our  destiny  as  a  nation, 
almost,  should  have  been  determined!  We  do  not  yet  know 
the  full  proportions  of  the  week  of  war,  and  have  but  little 
of  its  detail  in  any  trustworthy  form.  God  grant  that  the 
success  may  prove  to  be  indeed  decisive  as  regards  the 
control  of  this  unhappy  State!  Your  loving,  sorrowing, 
anguish-stricken  friend, 

W.  R.  W. 

Pray  give  my  warmest  love  to  Talk.  Thank  God  his  true, 
manly  heart  and  sound,  clear  head  were  with  you! 

W.  R.  W. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Kerfoot  to  Mr.  Abel  A.  Kerfoot. 

My  Study,  11  p.  m.,  Dec.  4,  1862. 

I  really  blame  myself,  my  own  dear  son,  for  not  writing 
more  regularly.  And  yet  I  am  very  busy — double  teaching,' 
and  much  more  than  usual  business,  etc.,  resulting  from  new 
arrangements  and  from  the  not  few  disarrangements  arising 
out  of  the  recent  military  occupation  of  our  region.  Scarcely 
one  supply  is  or  comes  as  before  ;  no  matter. 

We  now  count  thirty-nine.  We  shall  grow—slowly,  but 
really.  The  character  of  our  boys  is  much  better  than  last 
year.    We  had  then  some  ugly  stuff,  most  of  which  is  not 

1  [The  Rector  had  taken,  in  ad-    I    Passmore,  who  had  accepted  a 
dition  to  his  ordinary  work,  the        professorship  in  Racine.] 
classes  usually  taught  by  Prof.    I 


1862.]  CORRESPONDENCE.  251 

here  now.  Brains  and  heart  seem  more  worthy  of  work. 
May  God  bless  om*  eftorts !  .  .  .  . 

I  went  Sunday  afternoon  to  the  Smoketown  Hospital,  and  f^^^^f^^^,; 
had  service  and  sermon  in  their  nice  tent-church — i.  c,  some 
three  or  four  tents  opened  one  into  the  other.  The  con- 
valescents had  wreathed  evergreens  at  each  arch  (the  jointures 
of  the  tents)  and  over  the  entrance  and  the  "desk"  were 
evergreen  crosses.  The  chaplain,  a  Presbyterian,  is  a  devoted, 
cordial  friend  to  all,  and  a  hard  worker.  He  gave  me  his 
place  gladly,  and  I  did  feel  as  though  it  was  real  ministry,  as 
I  offered  the  Church's  prayers  and  spoke  the  Word  to  that 
company— many  pale,  maimed,  on  crutches,  etc.;  all  reverent 
and  attentive.  The  Confederate  wounded  have  nearly  all 
gone.  One,  a  Virginia  lieutenant,  I  found  was  half  a  mile 
off,  and  to  him  I  went  with  my  word  of  counsel  and  a  prayer- 
book.    My  efforts  in  New  York  have  brought  excellent  gifts 

of  clothing,  inner  and  outer,  books,  etc Mrs.  Kennedy 

is  the  active  almoner,  and  a  noble  one  she  is.  The  Smoke- 
town  Hospital  is  of  tents— fine  ones — in  the  woods  six  miles 
south  of  us.  The  open  air  is  a  great  blessing  to  the  men. 
Yesterday  I  was  able  to  make  a  brief  visit  to  one  hospital  in 
Hagerstown.  Due  care  was  taken ;  yet  the  tents  and  country 
are  far  better  than  ^o2/se-hospitals.  Oh  that  I  could  get  away 
more  from  work  here  to  visit  among  these  poor  fellows ! 
Eleven  to  twelve  thousand  are  still  in  our  county ;  the}'  are 
of  all  the  States.  But  good-night :  I  must  go  to  my  room  and 
bed,  to  be  up  and  at  work  at  6  o'clock  to-morrow.  The  clock 
is  now  getting  near  to  12  midnight.  God  bless  my  own  dear 
son!     Your  loving  father. 

The  Rev,  Dr.  Kerfoot  to  the  Bishop  of  Maryland. 

December  30,  1862. 
My  Bear  Bishop,— It  is  now  past  eleven  p.  m.,  but  your 
letter  of  the  11th  has  been  too  long  unanswered.  [He  gives 
some  account  of  the  pressing  occupations  that  have  hindered 
his  writing,  and  then  continues]  and  I  have  helped,  b}'  letters 
of  request,  of  acknowledgment  and  some  statements  of  facts, 


'252  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.  [Chap.  IX. 

to  procure  supplies  from  the  North  for  our  wounded  and  sick 
soldiers.  Mrs.  Kennedy  and  other  ladies  have  sought  and 
wrought  most  zealously  and  successfully,  and  my  efforts  have 
helped  them.  I  have  not  felt  that  I  could  give  all  my  time 
and  work  now  to  sons  of  wealth,  health  and  ease,  while  bodies 

and  souls  within  reach  were  in  sore  need I  read 

service  Christmas  afternoon  at  Smoketown  Hospital,  in  their 
bright  tent-chapel,  and  Colt  went  there  again  on  Sunday 
afternoon. 

I  hope  that  we  can  pay  bills  and  get  on.  In  Jiope  of  this, 
I  wrote,  only  lately,  declining  a  very  loving  invitation  and 
urgent  request  of  Dr.  Muhlenberg  to  take  St.  Luke's  Hospital.' 
Comfortable  and  sure  maintenance  was  guaranteed  ;  and  the 
offer,  made  two  or  three  months  since,  was  left  open  to  me.  If 
I  cannot  go  on  here^  that  work  would  suit  my  heart  best.  I 
was  hopeful  enough  of  my  present  work  to  say  no.  My  dear 
old  father  writes  me  back  sadly,  lovingly,  and  accepts  my 
negative  for  the  present.  My  heart  and  hopes  are  first  here. 
May  our  work  here  live  ! — but  bills  and  bank  accounts  are 
terribly  stubborn  facts  !  .  .  .  . 

>  [See  ante  p.  150.] 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE   THIRD    YEAR    OF    THE    WAR.       THE    RETREAT    FROM 

GETTYSBURG. 

1863. 

The  first  record  in  the  diary  of  this  memorable 
year,  the  year  of  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  is  as 
follows : 

12.15  a.  m.,  Thursday,  Jan.  1,  1863.— I  have  just  come 
from  our  home,  and  just  before  that  from  our  dear  chapel — 
a  full  attendance,  and  real,  solemn,  hopeful  service  there. 
Abel  is  at  Concord ;  A.  at  Smoketown  Hospital.'  K.  I 
kissed  for  Happy  New  Year  in  her  sleep  ;  my  dear  wife  wor- 
shipped with  me ;  our  darling  Helen,  with  us  a  year  ago, 
sleeps  in  Jesus.  Pa,  Alen,  liave  gone  since  this  day  a  year 
ago.  Who  is  to  go  in  1863?  God  orders.  May  He  sanctify 
us,  and  all  things  to  us !  Bless  my  dear  Dr.  Muhlenberg,  and 
all  I  love,  and  all  my  boys,  present  and  former.  And  oh,  give 
us  peace  this  year ! 

The  College  life  went  on  as  usual,  with  a  tranquillity 
truly  remarkable  under  the  circumstances  (the  Rector 
giving  all  the  time  he  could  to  the  hospitals  in  the 
neighborhood),  until  Gen.  Lee  crossed  the  Potomac  in 
June.  In  his  untiring  efforts  to  alleviate  the  sufi'erings 
of  the  sick  and  wounded.  Dr.  Kerfoot  was  greatly 
aided  by  his  intimate  friends,  Mrs.  Howard  Kennedy 
and  the  Rev.  Henry  Edwards,  of  Hagerstown.     He 

'  [Assisting  Miss  Hall  and  other    I     denkieff,  physician  in  charge.] 
ladies  in  nursing,  under  Dr.  Van-     | 


254  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.  [Chap.  X. 

also  interested  bis  friends  in  JS^ew  York,  and  obtained 
valuable  supplies  of  clothing,  books,  etc. 
to  lucmegT.  At  the  very  opening  of  the  year,  however,  the  con- 
tinued existence  of  the  College,  whose  life  was  now 
trembling  in  the  balance,  was  imperilled  by  a  danger 
for  which  the  Rector  was  not  at  all  prepared.  This 
was  nothing  less  than  the  threatened  withdrawal  of 
Bishop  Whittingham  from  all  connection  with  the  in- 
stitution he  loved  so  well,  and  which,  to  use  his  own 
expression,  was,  in  his  eyes,  first  in  importance  of  all 
the  Church  works  in  his  Diocese.  Bishop  Whittiugham's 
letter  is  a  striking  evidence  of  the  unhealthy  excitement 
of  those  times  (exhibited,  it  should  be  remembered, 
by  people  on  l)oih  sides  of  the  questions  at  issue), 
and  of  the  length  to  which  his  "loyalty"  in  1863  in- 
clined him  to  go,  even  in  his  administration  of 
the  Diocese.  And  this,  while  it  shows  the  ardent 
character  of  the  man,  gives  additional  force  and  value 
to  his  pacificatory  conduct,  in  concert  with  Dr.  Kerfoot, 
at  the  General  Convention  of  1865,  which  will  be 
mentioned  in  its  proper  place. 

On  the  27th  of  January,  two  vacancies  having 
occurred  in  the  board  of  trustees,  and  the  removal  of 
another  trustee,  Dr.  A.  C.  Coxe,  to  New  York  being 
imminent.  Dr.  Kerfoot  proposed  to  Bishop  Whitting- 
ham (who  was  president  of  the  board)  the  names  of 
three  gentlemen  who  were  known  to  sympathize  with 
the  South.  Two  of  these  were  residents  of  Balti- 
more— one  a  clergyman,  the  other  a  well-known 
physician,  both  intimate  friends  of  Bishop  Whitting- 
ham; the  other  was  at  that  very  time  a  professor  in 
the  institution.     The  Rector's  motive  (for  he  was  quite 


1863.]  THIRD  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR.  255 

as  strong  in  his  political  views  and  wishes  as  the 
Bishop)  was  manifest.  He  knew  that  all  three  gentle- 
men were  earnest  friends  of  the  College,  and  he  hoped 
that  after  their  election  it  would  be  easier  for  the 
board  (which  never  again  assembled  under  Bishop 
Whittingham's  chairmanship)  to  hold  meetings  and 
work  harmoniously  together.  To  his  surprise  and 
dismay,  he  received  from  the  Bishop  a  positive  refusal 
to  consent  to  the  proposition.' 

The  Bishop  of  Maryland  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Kerfoot. 

Baltimore,  Jan.  29,  1863. 

....  Would  it  be  in  any  way  possible  for  you  to  be  here 
at  your  nephew's  ordination?  In  that  case  we  might  have 
opportunity  satisfactorily  to  discuss,  in  talking,  a  very  serious 
question  in  College  matters,  about  which,  I  very  much  fear, 
for  the  first  time,  there  is  a  grave  difference  between  us. 

I  will  rather  resign  my  connection  with  St.  James's  than  iVo  wore  "rfis- 
consent  to  serve  in  its  board  of  trustees  with  the  addition  of   ^ 
a  single  disloyal  member.    I  have  strained  my  conscience  to 
the  very  last  stretch  in  connivance  with  the  disloyal  element 
hitherto — thus  far,  cheerfully,  and,  in  implicit  trust  in  you, 
most  heartily.     But  I  can  go  no  further. 

Every  day  satisfies  me,  more  and  more,  of  the  pernicious 
corrosiveness  of  the  disloyal  element.  It  cuts  out  honesty 
from  the  heart  of  the  man  himself,  and  seems  to  spread  a 
cankering  atmosphere  all  around  him.  The  doings  in  Grace 
Church,  and  in  St.  Luke's,  sadly,  most  sadly,  exemplify  this. 

I  imagine  that  Coxe  misunderstood  my  proposal  with  regard 
to  his  trusteeship :  it  was  not  for  his  permanent  continuance 
on  the  board,  but  for  his  delay  of  resignation.  I  do  not  under- 
stand his  tenure  of  office  to  expire  ipso  facto  remotionis,  but 
suppose  the  terms  of  the  charter  merely  to  require  his  vaca- 
tion of  the  place  within  a  reasonable  time  after  removal.     I 

*  See  Brand's  Life  of  Bishop  Whiiiingham,  Vol.  I,  p.  293. 


256  LIFi:  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.  [Chap.  X. 

would  rather,  if  places  must  be  filled,  put  in  men  under 
arraugement  for  future  I'esignation,  to  make  way  for  others, 
when  the  times  allow  of  a  selection  o^  proper  lay-members, 
and  take  such  men  as  J.  M.  Dashiell  and  Colburn,  or  other 
perfectly  staunch  and  true  men  among  the  Maryland  clergy, 
than  botch  up  the  board  with  questionable  men  from  among 
the  loyal  laity  just  at  present.  From  among  the  disloyal  the 
question  is  not  open  for  me.  You  have  richly  earned  the 
right  to  decide  it,  and  I  will  acquiesce  in  your  decision,  if  so 
made,  without  a  murmur ;  but  the  question  is  between  such  and 
me 

Dr.  Kerfoot  wrote  a  kind  but  earnest  remonstrance. 

College  of  St.  James,  Feb.  2,  1863. 
The  Bishop's       ....  I  hope  I  may  be  able  to  get  to  Baltimore  at  and 
impracticable,  before  the  ordination  ;  but  I  must  not  leave  till  then  the  topic 
of  the  new  trustees.     We  must  think  out  and  concur  in  the 

right  plan Your  view  and  purpose  (I  trust  and  pray 

not  fixed)  cause  me  deep  anxiety.  Such  a  resolve  on  youi- 
part  inevitably  ends  our  work  here.  Js'either  F.,  C,  nor 
myself^  continue  a  da}'  after  you  withdraw.  Nor  can  the 
College  live  a  day,  if  this  principle  be  avowed  as  essential  in 
choosing  trustees.  The  four  laymen'  now  on  the  board  will 
leave,  and  two-thirds  of  our  boys.  We  who  are  here  will  not 
reach  that  pass  ;  we  shall  foresee  it  and  avoid  it  by  giving  up 
our  eflbrt.  None  of  us  will  provoke  so  hopeless  a  struggle, 
so  damaging  an  one  to  the  Church,  to  our  Bishop,  and  to  our- 
selves. Prudent  men  in  the  North  would  not  approve  the 
issue.  I  beg  you,  my  dear,  dear  Bishop,  not  to  form  any  such 
purpose  or  rule  for  yourself  and  your  action.  I  have  no  wish 
to  throw  responsibility  on  you,  if  I  can  carry  it  myself.  I  am 
sure  you  have  not  thought  over  all  the  workings  of  such  a 
position  on  your  part.  I  have  carefully  considered  my  dutj' — 
my  inevitable  necessity — in  any  such  unexpected  emergency. 

'  [Messrs.  Campbell,  Harrison,  Brune  and  Wyman,  of  Baltimore.] 


1863.]  THIRD  YEAR  OE  TEE  WAR.  257 

I  can  see  nothing  but  my  leaving  the  College  and  the  Diocese ; 
either  of  which  would  be  another  funeral  to  my  heart.  And 
may  I  go  on  to  say  that  I  cannot  see  how  you  can  work  the 
Diocese,  as  its  Bishop,  on  any  such  principle  ?  Every  com- 
mittee and  parish  you  work  with,  and  the  very  convention 
itself,  offer  you  the  same  difficulty.  Does  not  God  lay  on  us 
this  trial  of  heart — and  even  of  conscience— amid  perplexing 
questions,  to  be  loyal  to  the  nation,  and  to  the  Church,  and 
to  His  work,  where  the  paths  seem  to  cross,  almost  ?  .  .  .  . 
Why  shall  this  one  board,  out  of  the  hundreds  you  must  work 
with,  be  thus  restricted?  If  we  act  on  any  such  rule,  of 
course  we  must  avow  it.     The  result  is  clear  and  immediate. 

My  proposal  is  (and  F.  and  C.  concur)  that  we  honestly 
exclude  that  question.  This  so  far  modifies  and  improves  the  zet  the  poHHcal 
idea  in  my  last  letter,  that  we  can  now  select  and  name  men  ^pj^'^^a'^^ 
on  entirely  another  principle — a  real  and  important  one — resi- 
dence here,  or  near  enough  to  enable  us  to  get  a  quorum 
here.  At  first,  most  of  the  trustees  were  of  this  vicinity ; 
then,  to  secure  Baltimore  co-operation,  we  chose  some  there  ; 
and  later  on,  in  the  near  prospect  of  going  to  Baltimore 
County,  we  chose  more  Baltlmoreaus.  The  three  vacancies 
which  now  exist  (two  of  College  professors,  Coaklay  and 
Passmore,  and  this  third  one,  Coxe)  help  us  to  secure  a 
quorum,  with  you  here  at  the  College.  This  is  very  im- 
portant  We  know  how  nearly  we  failed  to  get  the 

quorum  of  five  together  in  Baltimore. 

I  propose,  therefore,  that  three  who  are  resident  here  be 
chosen — Falk,  Coit  and  Harrison.  It  so  happens  that  (1) 
this  renews  or  continues  the  old  idea  of  professors  being 
trustees ;  and  (2)  it  gives  to  men  who  devote  themselves  to 
this  work  a  merited  position,  and  one  they  are  very  com- 
petent to  fulfil.  It  so  happens,  too  (3),  that  t/ political  vigi- 
lance starts  the  question  of  men's  present  views,  H.'s  name 
would  show  that  we  do  not  raise  or  intrude  that  test  (as  none 
ought  to  do  it).  Yet  H.  is  so  loyal  to  you,  the  College  and 
me,  that  he  would  always  work  right  and  well.  There  are 
none  outside  the  College  that  would  do  but  Mr.  Edwards  and 
Dr.  Fred.  Dorsey.    Mr.  E.  is  uuUkely  to  stay  long  in  Wash- 


258  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.  [Chap.  X. 

ington,  and  his  successor  will  be — who?  and  what?  Dr.  D. 
has  become  a  marked  man  as  Unionist  and  officer  (medical) 

of  the  United  States  in  the  draft The  names  you  suggest 

would  awaken  the  contest  I  spoke  of;  nor  would  they  com- 
mand the  confidence  of  the  public  otlierwise  ;  the  one  reason 
for  their  selection  would  be  too  evident.  The  principle  I  give 
is  the  true,  the  necessary,  one  at  present.  Please  write  to  me 
soon,  and  if  you  can  suggest  any  other  principle  and  plan,  I 
will  gladly  adopt  it  if  I  can.  If  trouble  should  be  made  then 
on  this  score  (i.  e.,  if  any  one  outside  tried  to  push  in  or 
keep  out  trustees  on  score  of  politics),  I  will  not  leave  it  to 
you  to  say  no,  cost  what  it  may.  I  am  sure,  though,  we  shall 
have  no  trouble.     God  guide  us  all ! 

I  have  just  had  a  letter  from  Dick  and  enclose  it.     You 
will  make  no  mistake  in  ordaining  Mm  a  priest. 
Your  loving  son, 

J.  B.  Kerfoot. 

Bishop  Whittingliam,  perceiving  that  an  escape 
had  been  pointed  out  to  him  from  the  dilemma  in 
which  he  had  placed  himself,  gracefully  receded  from 
a  resolution  which,  if  persisted  in,  would  speedily 
have  brought  matters  ecclesiastical  in  Maryland  to  a 
deadlock : 

The  Bishop  of  Maryland  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Kerfoot. 

Baltimore,  Feb.  5,  1863. 
My  Dear  Kerfoot, — Yours  of  Monday  came  this  morning. 
Your  new  proposal  totally  changes  the  ground,  and  greatly  to 
my  satisfaction.  You  know  my  original  conception  of  the 
College  was  the  English  plan  of  property  vesting  in  the 
Fellows.  Your  proposal  of  Professorate  Trusteeships  is  a 
return  to  that ;  and  I  think  for  got)d  and  sufficient  reasons. 
....  This  change  of  plan  quite  takes  away  my  objections  to 
H.    As  one  of  the  professors,  he  is  in  the  College To 


1863.]  THIRD-  TEAR  OF  THE  WAR.  259 

his  admission  with  F.  and  C.  I  have  no  objection  at  all.    My 

resolve  is  as  to  futui'e  action 

Again  I  say  that,  in  the  existing  circumstances  and  mo^- Heartily aj^- 

o  J  1  o  i  proves  the  new 

pects   of  the  institution,   I  most    heartily  approve   of  the i.'/a«. 
reintroduction  of  Professors  into  Trusteeships,  even  to  the 
extent,  if  need  and  opportunity  occur,  of  mailing  the  whole 
Board  to  consist  of  them  only. 

Not,  again,  that  I  mean  any  present  change  in  our  Balti- 
more members.  They  are  in,  and  willing  to  serve  ;  so  much 
the  better.  But  that  is  enough.  No  more  in  that  direction. 
....  On  ever}'  account  I  tliink  Coit  and  Falk  eminently  fit  to 
be  joined  in  ownership  and  control  of  the  interests  of  the 
College ;  and  his  position  giving  him  a  right  to  be  joined 
with  them,  I  have  no  objection  to  make  to  H.,  but  am 
personally  gratified  at  whatever  it  may  add  to  him  of  dignity 
or  ease  of  position. 

I  return  Richard's  truly  gratifying  letter.  Would,  indeed, 
that  I  could  always  feel  as  well  assured  of  the  higher  call  to 
the  priesthood  going  before  the  outward  admission  to  it,  as 
he  gives  us  reason  to  believe  to  be  the  case  with  him ! 

The  30tli  of  April  was  appointed  by  President 
Lincoln  as  a  "  National  Fast  Day."  Bishop  Whit- 
tingham,  of  course,  issued  prayers  to  be  used.  On 
this  occasion  Dr.  Kerfoot  took  care  to  announce  that 
any  student  who  had  "conscientious"  scruples  about 
attending  chapel  on  that  day,  might  remain  away  and 
spend  their  time,  if  they  so  preferred,  in  the  study  of 
Latin,  Greek  and  mathematics. 

In  what  follows,  no  attempt,  of  course,  will  be  made 
to  give  any  adequate  account  of  the  retreat  from 
Gettysburg,  or  of  the  social  disturbances  in  Maryland 
and  Pennsylvania  in  the  eventful  summer  of  18G3. 
Only  Dr.  Kerfoot's  connection  with  them  will  be 
narrated,  as  described  in  his  own  diary  and  letters. 


260 


LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT. 


[Chap.  X. 


The  following  account  is  taken  chiefly  from  a  letter 
of  Dr.  Kerfoot  to  Bishop  Whittingham,  with  a  few 
extracts  from  Dr.  Kerfoot's  diary  interspersed  : 


Battle  of  Get- 
tysburg. 


The  Rev.  Dr.  Kerfoot  to  the  Bishop  of  Maryland. 

College  of  St.  James,  Md.,  July  20,  1863, 

11  o'clock  p.  in. 

My  Dear  Bishop^ — I  have  not  been  able  to  write  before. 
Poor  C.  H.'s'  perilous  illness  has  supervened  on  the  ceaseless 
excitement  of  the  war.  I  have  seen  him  in  Hagerstown 
to-day  ;  he  is  better,  and  may  recover. 

Our  alarm  here  began  on  June  14,  and  on  the  15th  came  a 
dash  of  guerilla  Confederate  cavalry  through  our  grounds,  and 

a  loud  cheer  from  a  score  of  our  hoys We  felt  then 

that  the  crisis  was  on  us.  This  must  not  be,  under  me  and 
F.  and  C.  and  C — r.  Next  morning  eight  boys  left  us  to  join 
them.  (Of  these,  two  came  back  for  temporary  shelter;  four 
went  home ;  two  enlisted.)  I  plainly,  strongly,  reproved 
"the  cheering  "  in  the  chapel  that  same  morning  (the  15th), 
and  spoke  of  the  guilt  of  leaving  College  in  such  a  way  as 
those  lads  had  done,  without  their  parents'  consent,  etc.,  etc. 
There  was  no  more  cheering  ever  after,  though  cavalry  often 
passed  through.     Work  went  on  pretty  well ;  no  disorder. 

June  18,  19. — Tried  in  vain  to  find  a  way  for  the  boys  open 
to  Baltimore. 

June  22. — Another  boy  left  and  enlisted,  but  came  back 
sick  on  July  5. 

On  Juue  24:  made  the  way  to  Frederick  with  the  Baltimore 
and  Pennsylvania  boys,  and  reached  home  safely  at  10.30 
p.  m.,  passing  through  our  scouts  on  the  turnpike  and  through 
a  rebel  brigade  in  Boonsboro.* 


'  [One  of  the  students.  He  was 
just  recovering  from  scarlet 
fever  when  the  Confederate  in- 
vasion took  place.  Unavoidable 
exposure  brought  on  a  serious 
relapse.] 


2  {From  the  Diary :  June  23. 
After  most  anxious  and  prayer- 
ful reflection  decided  to  venture 
the  eflbrt  to  take  the  boys — 
twenty-one  of  them — to  and 
through  Frederick.    Busy  even- 


1863.] 


THIRD  YEAR  OF  TEE  WAR. 


261 


June  26. — Resumed  regular  work  (!)  with  the  twelve  boys 
left.  The  rebel  forces  now  well  gone  into  Pennsylvania. 
Rumors  of  rebel  successes  come  to  us  ;  no  other  news. 

June  28,  29. — Rumors  of  our  own  troops. 

July  2,  3,  4. — Pretty  correct  rumors  reach  us  of  our  suc- 
cesses at  and  near  Gettysburg.  July  5,  startled  by  the 
return,  sick,  of  our  renegade  of  the  22d.  He  reports  return 
of  baggage  wagons,  capture  of  many  on  the  night  before,  etc.; 
hopeful  signs  of  Lee's  defeat.  ' 

July  6.  ...  At  5  p.  m.  Buford's  U.  S.  Cavalry  came 
pouring  along  Boonsboro  and  Williamsport  road,  and  soon 
we  saw  and  heard  fighting  at  Williamsport.  At  9  p.  m.  our 
cavalry  pass  back,  repulsed. 

July  7.— Up  early,  and  visited  9th  N.  Y.  Cavalry  in  the 
woods  opposite  our  gate.  Wbile  there,  skirmishing  began. 
Confederates  coming  from  Williamsport.  Their  advance, 
firing  as  they  marched,  in  full  view  from  the  top  of  the  Col- 
lege, right  under  our  eyes,  and  the  slow  retreat  of  our  cavalry. 

At  1  p.  m.  called  upon  by  a  Confederate  surgeon  to  go  out 
to  the  road  and  take  up  a  mortally  wounded  Union  soldier. 
Dr.  Falk  and  I  went  out  in  a  little  wagon.  (First  saw  a  man 
dead  opposite  our  gate  ;  his  horse  also  dead.)  Went  on  to  the 
wounded  man,  and  found  him  in  agony  and  paral3zed  on  one 
side ;  brought  him  to  the  College,  and  met  all  his  wants. 
Then  had  a  box  made  and  grave  dug  in  our  graveyard,  and 
drove  out  to  bring  the  dead  in  and  bury  him."  The  body  had 
just  been  buried  at  our  outer  gate  on  the  Boonsboro  and 
Williamsport  road;  read  the  service  and  came  back. 

July  8.— Pretty  well  overrun  by  Confederate  soldiers.    Last  „  ,     ,. 

.    ,  •'  *'  Retreat  froin 

night  they  broke  open  our  spring-house  and  helped  them-  Oettysburg. 
selves  to  100  lbs.  of  butter.    The  rest  we  saved— hid  away— as 
well  as  good  stores  of  flour,  groceries,  bacon,  etc.     Heard 
to-day  the  particulars  of  Ives  Smedes's'  death  from  wounds  at 


ing  and  night.  May  God  help, 
keep  and  bless  them  and  me, 
and  bring  me  safely  home  again ! 
I  believe  I  am  doing  my  duty  to 
my  boys.  Mr.  Coit  goes  with  me.] 


'[A  graduate  of  St.  James's, 
son  of  Rev.  Dr.  Smedes,  of  Ra- 
leigh, N.  C. — a  youth  of  the  vei-y 
highest  promise  morally  and  in 
tellecually.] 


262 


LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT. 


[Chap.  X. 


Chancellorsville.  Got  some  guards  at  sundown— Georgia 
men.  Jenkins's  guerilla  cavalry  at  10  p.  m.  in  the  field  just 
south  of  us— bad  fellows. 

July  9.— Overrun  by  the  guerilla  cavalry  at  dawn,  and  for 
some  hours  ;  had  to  lock  every  door  ;  importunate  for  food  for 
men  and  horses.  Most  of  them,  personally,  courteous.  Our 
troops  (we  discover)  hold  Boonsboro  and  the  roads  west  and 
south  of  it.  Pretty  clear  that  Confederate  boastings  about 
Gettysburg  are  unreal.  But  every  sign  now  of  this  vicinity 
being  a  battle-ground.  Our  "  mortally  "  wounded  man  doing 
well :  boys,  "  Secesh  "  and  Union,  very  kind  in  nursing  him  ; 
he  will  live.     (And,  now,  July  20,  is  walking  about.) 

July  10. — Fearful  day ;  cannonading  coming  nearer.  Got 
our  main  basement  ready,  with  supplies,  etc.,  to  retire  to,  in 
case  of  battle.  After  much  consideration,  we  all  decide  to 
stay  171  the  College,  through  any  battle.  Where  shall  we  go? 
The  whole  vicinity  unsafe,  and  no  other  house  so  strong. 
The  Confederates  have  placed  batteries  just  inside  our  hedge  ; 
tve  see  their  guns ;  the  hedge  hides  them  from  our  arm}', 
which  is  now  one  mile  east  of  us.  At  5  p.  m.  Confederate 
signal  corps  men  come  up  and  announce  "  enemy  advancing." 
Sent  the  Hagerstown  boys  home  by  a  roundabout  way. 
Stowed  our  best  clothing,  house-linen,  etc.,  etc.,  in  a  deep 
cellar,  so  that,  if  the  house  were  fired  by  shells,  these  might 
be  saved.  Slept  with  my  family  on  the  ground  floor,  north 
side  of  the  house,  expecting  the  battle  by  dawn. 

July  11.— Rose  and  breakfasted  very  early.  Weary,  anxious 
hours  till  noon  ;  no  battle,  though  the  skirmishers  of  the  two 
armies  were  visible — many  of  them — and  closing  in  on  one 
another,  and  firing,  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile  south  of  us. 
At  noon  came  Lieut.-Gen,  A,  P.  Hill  and  Brig.-Gen.Willcox 
to  warn  Mrs.  Porter  to  leave  at  once.'  They  kindly  urged 
me  to  take  every  lady  and  child  away  at  once.  Men  might, 
ought  to  stay,  to  protect  property.    My  wife  and  daughter 


'  [They  knew  Gen.  Fitzjohn 
Porter,  having  been  with  him  at 
West  Point.  Hearing  that  his 
mother  was  at  the  College,  they 


interested  themselves  about  her 
safety  and  displayed  great  friend- 
liness.] 


1863.]  THIRD  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR.  263 

did  not  wish  to  go.  Safer  here ;  and  battle  just  at  hand.  Can- 
nonading already  near  us.  [Gen.  Hill  said,  "If  it  were  my 
wife  and  daughter,  I  would  make  them  go."]  The  most  har- 
rowing doubt  and  debate  of  my  life,  but  decide  to  go. 

In  haste  packed  up  a  few  clothes  and  stowed  away  a  few  Takes  his 
more  valuables  in  the  cellar,  and  at  1.30  p.  m.  drove  oft"  the-^^"'^,^J^',,,,^ 
College  wagon  with  wife,  two  daughters  and  Miss  Falk ;  and 
my  little  carriage  came  along,  Mrs.  Porter,  L.  P.  W.  and 
C.  H.  in  it.  The  cannon  of  our  Uuited  States  Army  were 
already  throwing  shells,  visible  and  audible,  against  the  bat- 
teries at  our  outer  gate  ;  and  the  brigade  of  cavalry  (Confeder- 
ate) wheeling  into  position  on  our  lawn  as  we  drove  off.  Our 
ride  for  two  miles  was  right  along  the  Confederate  sharpshoot- 
ers, who  were  crouching  under  the  fence,  ten  feet  on  our  left. 
Our  United  States  sharpshooters  three-quarters  of  a  mile  on 
our  right.  God's  mercy  took  us  through  safely  to  Hagerstown. 
General  Hill  gave  me  and  party  a  pass  anywhere,  on  parole 
not  to  give  any  information  to  their  detriment.  Hagerstown 
in  full  possession  of  the  Confederates. 

Sunday,  July  12. — No  churches  open.  At  8  a.  m.  our 
(U.  S.)  cavalry  dashed  in  and  drove  Confederates  out  of 
town.  Skirmishing  all  about  (not  in)  the  town  ;  some  bullets 
came  into  town.  Streets  barricaded  to  prevent  enemy's 
cavalry  dashes;  heavy  battle  surely  expected  for  Monday; 
hardly  less  in  peril  here  than  at  the  College  ;  rumors  and 
sounds  of  battle  in  that  direction. 

Monday,  July  13. — Dark,  fearful  signs  of  popular  rage 
against  Secessionists  in  Hagerstown.  Busy  that  day  striving 
to  assuage  and  keep  Union  men  quiet.  They  had  been 
robbed  ruthlessly  for  weeks,  and  their  "Secesh"  neighbors 
had  done  little  to  protect  them. 

At  6  p.  m.  General  Kilpatrick's  "  reconnoissance  in  force  " 
against  enemy's  (General  Ewell's)  left,  just  three-fourths  of 
a  mile  west  of  Mrs.  Kennedy's  house,  where  we  were.  The 
Confederate  shells  flying  and  bursting  in  our  view  in  the  dark 
of  the  evening.     "  Battle  to-morrow  about  us  /" 

Tuesday,  July  14. — Up  early ;  great  tumult  in  town  ;  enemy 
gone  ;  full  pursuit  of  them,  etc.     At  nine  o'clock  met  man 


264  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.         [Chap.  X. 

from  College.  "Enemy  gone,  but  College  and  my  house 
broken  open  and  robbed."  Hastened  to  set  out  and  ex- 
amine, leaving  family  in  town  till  to-morrow.  Roads  thronged 
by  trains  of  wagons,  artillery,  etc.,  and  of  refugees  going 
f^ttreaUn  ^^  ^^^^'^^ '•>  ^^^^^  blocked  by  trees  cut  down.  Sad,  harrowing 
army.  sight  in  my  own  house  and  the  College.     Outer  and  inner 

doors  burst  open  ;  closets,  wardrobes,  trunks,  broken  open  ; 
kitchen  and  dining-room  filthy  ;  evidently  much  stolen.  But 
no  furniture  broken  for  mere  wantonness.  But  so,  too,  in 
the  College  and  boys'  rooms.  Dormitory,  wardrobes,  trunks, 
rifled ;  dining-room,  store-room,  etc.,  robbed  utterly.  Food 
wasted  and  scattered.     All  this  was  done  despite  a  general's 

orders,  who  could  not  prevent  it The  Rectory  was 

ransacked  from  cellar  to  garret,  and  articles  stolen  every- 
where.   Not  a  trunk  but  was  broken,  etc The  loss 

has  been  very  serious More  again  ;   good  morning  ! 

it  is  12.40  a.  m.,  July  21.    Ever  affectionately, 

J.  B.  K. 

Continuation  of  the  Preceding  Letter. 

Wednesday,  Jul}"^  15. — Came  home  by  noon  with  my  family, 
leaving  C.  H.,  not  well,  at  Mrs.  Kennedy's,  in  Hagerstown. 
(The  feelings  of  my  family  you  may  imagine.) 

At  4  p.  m.  came  alarming  word  of  C.  H.'s  illness,  and  at 
11  p.  m.  I  was  summoned  to  his  side  in  Hagerstown.  (Found 
him  desperately  ill ) 

The  libraries,  public  and  private,  escaped  pretty  well, 
except  Mr.  Harrison's.  His  house  broken  open  and  damaged 
a  good  deal 

Our  neighbors  suffered  sorely.  They  took  all  Mr.  J.  S. 
Rowland's  cows  (eleven  in  number),  all  his  bacon  and  fiour. 

....  (^ut  open  bureaus  and  took  clothes — everything 

Captain  Weller,  of  Mississippi  (Mrs.  P.'s  brother),  said  that 
General  Lee  had  placed  General  Posey  and  a  Mississippi 
regiment  under  arrest  for  this  plundering  of  Mr.  J.  S.  Row- 
land, and  that  Mr.  R.  should  be  paid  at  their  expense  ;  but 
Mr.  R.  never  heard  anything  of  this.  General  Lee,  of  course, 
is  humane,  but  he  hardly  knew  and  could  not  control  such 
thinsfs 


1863.] 


THIRD  YEAR  OF  TEE  WAR. 


265 


The  account  of  the  depredations  •  of  the  retreating 
army,  wliich  behaved  as  retreating  armies  proverbially 
do,  is  further  described.  It  was  necessary  to  enter 
into  detail  to  Bishop  Whittingham,  because,  if  the 
College  was  to  resume  work  in  October,  these  losses 
had  to  be  supplied.  Dr.  Kerfoot's  language,  though 
written  under  all  the  natural  excitement  of  the  time, 
and  with  so  much  mere  wanton  injury  to  property 
before  his  eyes,  cannot  be  called  extravagant  or  unkind. 
After  continuing  for  a  page  or  two,  he  ends  with 
"  '  Jam  satis,''  but  not  of  any thiug  as  nice  as  '  snow  ' !  " 
— plajfully  alluding  to  the  second  Ode  of  Horace. 

Dr.  Falk,  Mr.  Coit  and  Mr.  Coster  stayed  here  all  the 
time  save  Sunday  night  (July  12th),  from  10  to  4  o'clock.' 


'  [That  Sunday  night  was  spent 
in  the  house  of  i*Ir.  J.  W. 
Breathed,  curator  of  the  College, 
about  one-eighth  of  a  mile  dis- 
tant, towards  the  west,  in  the 
dii'ection  of  Williamsport.  There, 
by  request  of  Mr.  Breathed,  the 
present  writer,  who  had  not  long 
before  resigned  his  place  as  pro- 
fessor and  member  of  the  Faculty 
of  St.  James,  spent  most  of  these 
exciting  days,  until  July  15th, 
when  he  was  summoned  to 
Hagerstown,  along  with  Dr.  Kei'- 
foot,  to  the  sick-bed  of  a  relative. 
The  bullets  of  the  Federal  sharp- 
shooters struck  against  the  win- 
dows of  Mr.  Breathed's  house. 
Nothing  could  be  kinder  or  more 
considerate  than  the  behavior  of 
Generals  A.  P.  Hill  and  Willcox 
through  all  this  trying  period. 
During  these  days.  General  Lee 
and  the  other  Confederate  officers 


were  rapidly  completing  the  re- 
treat of  their  defeated  army 
across  the  Potomac,  about  four 
miles  distant.  They  expected 
General  Meade  to  attack  them 
before  this  retreat  was  fully  ac- 
complished, and  all  preparations 
were  made  for  a  battle  on  the 
College  grounds.  This  gave  time 
for  General  Lee  to  complete  his 
operations.  General  Meade  seems 
not  fully  to  have  known  his 
opportunity,  or  not  to  have  been 
quite  ready  to  use  it.  No  atiack 
was  made  (as  everybody  now 
knows).  On  the  contrary,  the 
Federal  army,  as  if  anticipating 
an  attack  upon  them,  spent  the 
night  in  felling  trees  in  the  woods 
east  of  the  College,  and  in  erect- 
ing barricades.  The  next  morn- 
ing the  Confederates  were  in  Vir- 
ginia.] 


266  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.  [Chap.  X. 

"Battle  sure  to  come  early  ou  Monday,"  as  the  Confederate 
generals  told  them.  They  were  in  much  peril,  and  entirely 
worn  down  by  watching  the  plunderers.  Sliai-pshooters 
were  in  and  all  about  the  College.  The  chapel  windows 
were  twice  pierced  by  balls.  The  bow-room  window,  the 
porch  behind  my  stud}',  and  the  east  sides  of  the  houses,  etc., 
were  peppered.  Four  Confederates  were  wounded  close  by 
the  College.  Had  any  battle  come  on,  the  College  would 
have  been  made  a  strong  place  of  defence  and  attack,  and 
the  battle  would  have  destroyed  it.  We  dared  expect  no 
other  result. 

We  are  very  thankful  to  God,  and  so  may  all  this  neighbor- 
hood be,  that  no  battle  came  on  here.  The  enemy  were  most 
strongly  entrenclied,  and  our  army  might  not  have  dislodged 
them.  That  would  have  been  a  serious  reverse.  On  the 
other  hand,  success  would  have  cost  10,000  lives  and  the  ruin 
of  all  our  homes We  met  not  a  few  of  the  Confed- 
erates, who  were  very  kind  and  courteous  ;  very  few  personally 
rough  and  threatening ;  but  may  they  never  come  again  !  is  the 
honest  prayer  of  many  that  used  to  talk  secession. 

Busy  in  the  ^^^'  ^^^  i^Q^t  few  weeks  Dr.  Kerfoot  was  incessantly 
hosintais.  \yy^^y  \y^  the  hospitals.  His  diary  teems  with  notes  of 
the  different  wounded  men,  their  needs  and  their 
spiritual  condition,  etc.  He  ministered  to  many  on 
both  sides,  finding  among  the  Confederates  one  former 
pupil,  who  gratefully  received  on  his  dying  bed  the 
consoling  oftices  of  the  Church,  which  his  old  Rector 
and  Pastor  was  only  too  thankful  to  be  able  to  admin- 
ister. After  this  Dr.  Kerfoot  broke  down,  and  was 
very  ill  with  a  low,  intermittent  fever — hospital  fever 
the  doctors  termed  it — which  returned  on  him  every 
summer  for  some  years,  both  in  Hartford  and  in  Pitts- 
burgh. When  he  recovered  he  paid  a  visit  to  his 
friends,  the  Whittinghams  and  Harrisons,  in  Balti- 
more. 


1863.]  THIRD  TEAR  OF  THE  WAR.  267 

The  Bishop  of  Maryland  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Eerfoot. 

Baltimore,  Monday,  Jul}-  6tb,  1863. 

My  Dear  Kerfoot., — Thank  God  I  may  now  hope  to  get  a  i^fjoice^  in  the 
line  to  you.    This  morning's  news,  I  think,  establishes  the  Gettystmrg. 
discomfiture  of  Lee  and  total  failm-e  of  his  movement. 

I  am  not  without  anxiety  lest  your  danger  fi-om  the  vaga- 
bond mob  of  a  beaten  army  be  greater  than  it  has  3-et  been 
while  that  army  was  under  discipline  and,  for  whatever  reason, 
kept  in  comparative  restraint. 

Your  lines  from  Frederick  reached  me  two  days  after  date, 
and  the  fuller  note  of  the  27th  on  the  1st  inst.,  but  not  a 
word  of  your  verbal  messages.  Xot  one  of  the  3'oung  men 
has  had  the  civility  to  show  himself  or  send  me  any  verbal 
or  written  message 

Yet  all  we  have  been  able  to  gather,  together  with  your  own 
kind  information,  has  set  us  measurably  at  ease  concerning 
your  treatment  thus  far  by  the  invaders.  Until  the  receipt 
of  your  full  note  (of  June  27th),  my  mind  was  constantly 
running  on  the  terrible  anxieties  and  cares  which,  as  I  con- 
ceived, must  be  pressing  on  you Give  my  warmest 

greetings  of  sympathy  and  aflection  to  ^Mrs.  K.,  Annie  and 
your  fellow-suflerers,  Coit,  Falk  and  Coster.  M}'  heart  has 
been  with  you  all  throughout  your  tribulation,  and  now  joins 

you  in  thanks  for  deliverance Your  loving  friend, 

W.  R.  Whittingham. 

From  the  Same. 

Baltimore,  July  15th,  1863. 

Dear  Kerfoot^ — Although  I  have  much  doubt  whether  m}^  AnxhtUsfor 
last  note  (viz.  :  the  one  preceding)  has  reached  you,  and  fear '^**' '"'^*''^- 
that  it  may  be  y&t  some  days  before  this  can,  nevertheless,  as 
this  morning's  paper  announces   the  flight  of  the   rebels,  1 
will  venture. 

Need  I  say  how  I  have  been  tortured  with  the  constant 
thought  of  your  new  increase  of  perils  and  anxieties,  if  not 
privations  and  miseries,  as  the  poor  College  became  by  de- 


268  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.  [Chap.  X. 


grees  the  very  pivot  of  the  stril'e  of  the  two  armies  'i  If  sym- 
pathies and  longings  for  knowledge  could  have  pierced  the 
veil  of  distance,  we  certainly  should  have  known  your  situa- 
tion hour  b}'  hour ;  as  it  is,  we  cannot  even  try  to  guess  it. 

Your  notes  of  June  17th  and  July  2d  came  to  me  together 
the  day  after  I  wrote   my  last  [July  6th] .    Since  then  all 

communication  has  been  cut   oft" I,  of  course,  know 

only  what  I  can  find  in  the  public  prints,  and  that  suffices 
amply  for  alarm  on  your  account,  but  not  in  the  least  for 
assurance  even  of  your  existence. 

But  now  our  alarms  and  anxieties  are  excited  for  others  in 
another  quarter,  too.  Mob-rule  is  even  worse  than  war,  and 
New  York  is  now  in  the  third  day  of  experience  of  its  awful 
horrors 

From  the  Same, 

Orange,  New  Jersey,  Aug.  20th,  1863. 
Efforts  to  keep  Dear  Kerfoot^ —  ....  Both  your  letters — the  narrative 
Dr.  shathick.'  [the  letter  of  July  20th  above]  and  the  plan  [as  to  how  the 
College  might  possibly  be  resumed] — I  had  sent  as  in  confi- 
dence to  Dr.  Shattuck — who  had  aftbrded  me  opportunity  by 
inquiring  about  the  College  aud  its  prospects — with  part  of 
the  draft  of  my  answer.  What,  if  anything,  may  come  of 
tliat^  remains  to  be  seen.  Shattuck  is  a  man  too  large  of  heart 
and  too  free  of  hand  to  be  urged,  or  even  to  be  hinted  at. 
What  he  can  do  he  will — much  more  likely  more,  than  less 

than  he  ought  to  do 

I  cannot  sufficiently  thank  God  for  the  great  relief  aftbrded 
by  the  bridge  providentially  made  over  our  present  difficulty.' 
Still,  I  cannot  but  feel  humbled  in  recognizing  the  disparity 
of  what  is  secured,  to  what  is  due  from  the  Church  to  such 
sons  as  the  Faculty  of  St.  James's  have  shown  themselves 
in  such  times  as  those  by  which  their  souls  have  been  so 
sorely  tried.     God's  blessing  is  surely  with  you,  I  fully  believe. 

'[The  Bishop  refers  to  a  promise  '  liberally  himself,  but  withal  the 
of  funds  from  some  friends  of  '  salaries  of  the  Hector  and  pro- 
his  in  the  North.    He  also  gave    |    ^essors  were  ridiculously  meagre.] 


1863.]  THIRD  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR.  269 

He  will  fulfill  His  own  gracious  will  in  His  own  wise  way  ; 
and  it  does  now  seem  to  me  no  presumption  to  hope  that  He 
has  yet  more  and  better  work  for  you  to  do  than  any  of  all 
the  richly  rewarded  labor  which  it  has  yet  been  your  privi- 
lege to  expend  so  freely  in  His  service.  May  His  presence  be 
ever  with  you  all  more  and  more  !     Yom*  loving, 

W.  R.  Whittingham. 

Some  funds  having  been  provided  for  the  partial 
payment  of  salaries,  Dr.  Kerfoot  made  one  more 
effort  to  continue  his  work  at  St.  James's,  and  then, 
in  the  summer  of  1864,  his  labor  of  twentv-two  years 
came  abruptly  to  a  close  under  circumstances  which 
will  be  described  in  the  following  chapter. 


CHAPTER  XL 

LAST  YEAK  OB^  ST.  JAMES's.       DE.  KERFOOT  TAKEN 
PRISONER. 

1SG3-1864.    Aetat.  47-48. 

Lccs(  invasion  of     The  twentv-second  and  last  session  of  the  College 

the  Uonfedei'ates.  ,  i^ir./-\i  -.^^z,  .1  i 

opened  on  the  7th  oi  October,  1863,  with  twenty-three 
students,  who  after  a  while  increased  to  thirty-three.' 
By  the  resignation  of  one  of  the  professors  and  of  the 
curator,  all  the  College  officers  were  now,  for  the  first 
time,  a  unit  on  the  political  questions  of  the  day,  and 
though  many  of  the  students  were  still  Southern,  a 
wonderful  degree  of  harmony  prevailed,  and  every- 
thing went  on  smoothly.  The  Rector,  in  some  of  his 
letters,  speaks  particularly  of  the  cordiality  of  the 
Southern  students  towards  himself  and  the  Faculty,  of 
the  almost  entire  cessation  of  political  wrangling 
among  the  young  men  themselves,  of  the  courtesy  of 
both  sides  to  one  another,  and,  in  general,  of  the  quiet, 
orderly  and  pleasant  course  of  affairs  within  the 
College,  while  outside  all  was  storm  and  confusion. 
The  last  entry  for  1863  is  as  follows : 

Thursday,  Dec.  31,  11.37  p.  m.— This  momentous  year  is 
nearly  over,  full  of  mercies,  full  of  perils,  full  of  helps,  as 


'  The  principal  officers  of  the 
Faculty  at  this  time  were  the 
Rector ;  the  Rev.  Joseph  IT.  Coit, 
M.  A.,  Vice-Rector;  the  Rev.  F. 


W.  Alexander  Falk,  Ph.  D.,  and 
Mr.  R.  J.  Coster  (now  Rector  of 
the  Bishop  Bowman  Institute, 
Pittsburgh). 


1864.]  LAST  YEAR  OF  ST.  JAMES'S.  271 

full  of  cares.    The  College  wonderfully  kept  alive  through  its  ^<'f  j^^«''* 

perils Eleven  of  my  boys  have  died  this  year— eight 

of  them  in  and  by  the  war.    God  speed  a  righteous  peace !     I 

have  read  the  14th,  15th  and  16th  chapters  of  St.  John  and 

prayed  the  51st  Psalm.     I  soon  go  to  the  chapel  to  pray  and  • 

confess  and  praise  with  those  who  choose  to  come.    Shall  I 

see  1864  to  its  close?    God  knows,  and  I  would  not  know. 

....  Few  years  and  months  may  remain.    Lord,  make  me 

ready,  and  while  I  live,  let  me,  make  me,  work.    1863,  farewell ! 

.  .  .  .  Bless  and  protect  my  boys  and  their  families  !     Bless 

my  own  dear,  dear  home  ! 

Besides  the  care  that  arose  from  conducting  the 
College,  with  its  reduced  income  and  from  danger  of 
raids,  this  year  1864  was  a  time  of  great  domestic 
anxiety.  Dr.  Kerfoot's  eldest  child,  and  now  his  only 
S071,  Abel,  who  had  returned  from  St.  Paul's  School, 
began  to  show  symptoms  of  serious  disease,  which 
caused  grave  apprehensions.  His  wife  also  v.-as  several 
times  alarmingly  ill,  so  that  the  mental  strain  from  all 
these  causes  must  have  been  very  great.  The  Rector 
himself,  too,  suffered  not  seldom  from  overwork,  both 
in  the  College  and  in  the  hospitals.  Yet  the  full 
routine  of  College  work  was  maintained  by  Dr. 
Eerfoot  and  his  three  faithful  coadjutors. 

Before  taking  up  the  diary,  it  may  be  well  to  give 
a  few  letters  selected  from  the  correspondence  of  the 
year: 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Kerfoot  to  the  Bishop  of  Maryland. 

College  of  St.  James,  Md.,  Jan.  11,  1864. 
My  Dear  Bishop., — Your  Epiphany  letter  and  its  generous  Mr.  ixraei  D. 
enclosure  from  Mr.  Israel  D.  Condit  came  on  Saturday  even-  ^'<>"<^*'- 

ing Pray  again  send  my  thanks,  and  the  thanks  of  us 

all,  to  Mr.  Coudit.    I  will  write  directly  to  him  also,  and  shall 


272  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.  [Chap.  XI. 

be  able  to  assure  that  good,  large-hearted  man  and  true  friend 
of  our  work  and  Diocese  that  the  College  is  this  year  in  all 
respects  doing  well,  and  in  the  matter  of  the  quiet,  pleasant, 
but  most  clear,  predominance  of  loyalty,  especially  well.  I 
do  not  mean  that  the  majority  of  our  boys  are  Unionists— 
though  the  proportion  of  such  is  decidedly  growing — but 
Secessionism  is  silent,  cheerful,  sociable.  There  is  a  vast 
difference  of  tone.  It  is  known  here  how  the  College  is  sus- 
tained this  year 

Death  of  his  From  the  list  of  our  boys,  twelve  were  known  to  have  died, 
ege  oys.  ^j^gj^  j  vesiA  the  roll  on  New  Year's  Eve — ten  of  them  in  and 
by  the  war;  six  by  battle;  four  by  disease.  Two  more  have 
become  known  to  me  since  (disease).  One  of  these  I  have 
just  heard  of  this  evening,  "Johnny  Giles."  He  died  of 
typhoid  fever,  near  Savannah,  July  5th,  after  twenty  days' 

illness.     We  loved  him  here,  and  in  my  home,  dearly 

Eight  of  these  fourteen  died  communicants.  Three  of  these 
were  of  our  noblest  graduates — William  Creighton  Mead. 
(Union  Army),  Ives  Smedes  (Confederate  Army),  John  Giles. 
I  find  that  I  have  thought  much  of  my  College  sons  as 
treasures  and  honors  and  friends  here — this  side  the  great 
river.  I  feel  poorer.  I  shall  not  have  so  many  of  them  as  I 
thought  I  should— not  so  many  as  my  old  school- father  has— 
to  come  around  me,  if  I  live  to  be  old  as  Dr.  Muhlenberg  is 
old— and  rich  now.'  I  know  that  they  are  surer  treasures 
above,  safe  forever  now.  ...  I  enclose  two  letters ;  please 

return  them 

A.  will  probably  soon  make  a  visit  to  Baltimore,  giving 
half  her  time  to  the  Harrisons,  and  half  to  Mrs.  Whitting- 
ham  and  the  girls.  We  have  had  the  plan  for  months,  but 
Mrs.  K.'s  health,  chiefly,  has  postponed  definite  resolve  and 

plan All  of  us  send  love  to  you  and  yours.    Ever 

lovingly  your  son, 

J.  B.  Kerfoot. 

1  [See  the  affecting  account  of  i  himself  officiating,  in  the  Life 
the  gathering,  thirteen  years  a7id  Work  of  Dr.  Muhlenberg, -p^. 
later,  at  Dr.  Muhlenberg's  funeral         506,507.] 

in  St.  Johnland,  Bishop  Kerfoot  ! 


1R64.]  LAST  YEAR  OF  ST.  JAMES'S.  273 

In  a  letter  to  Bishop  Whittingham,  a  few  days  later, 
he  says : 

I  got  Alford's  Gospels  (X.  Y.  edit.),  and  I  like  it  very  much.  'Testmmrd!^  * 
Not  its  rules  and  principles  of  inspiration,  nor  its  non- 
church  theory  of  the  ministry,  fasting,  sacraments,  etc.  But 
his  comments  are  clear,  direct,  and  meet  difficulties  (more 
than  Wordsworth  meets  them)  ;  and  Alford  is  more  believing 
than  his  theory  of  inspiration  would  at  all  lead  one  to  expect. 
On  all  miracles,  mysteries,  etc.,  he  is  very  full  and  express  in 
hid  utterances  of  deep  faith.  I  like  his  good  things  the  more, 
because  I  did  not  expect  them.  But,  alas  !  that  Stanley 
can  exist  in  our  ministry  and  be  advanced  to  a  deanery  !  .  .  . 

The  Bishop  of  Maryland  to  the  Rev,  Dr.  Kerfoot. 

Baltimore,  Jan.  21,  1864. 

Dear  Zer/bo^— Yours  of  the   11th  and  15th  both  reached  ff'i^'=ci;jf«wff6w/< 
■^        '  the  war. 

me  duly.  I  thank  you  heartily  for  the  kind  remembrance 
shown  in  communicating  the  letters  from  Charley  P.  and  Dr. 
Meade.  They  both  deeply  interested  me,  though  in  very 
difterent  ways.  The  charming  ingenuousness  of  Charley's 
open-hearted  outpouring  of  feeling  and  reflection,  and 
reminiscences  and  resolutions,  was  a  refreshment  indeed. 
Nor  were  the  sad  details  of  the  broken  hopes  of  Willy 
Meade's  sorrowing,  yet  comforted,  relatives  less  indicative  of 
the  same  kind  of  influences  for  good  in  past  opportunities  and 
associations.  Truly  you  have  your  reward  in  such  histories  ! 
Yet  how  grievous  to  think  that  so  many,  called  away  in  the 
very  springtime  of  life,  should  have  laid  down  their  lives  for 
naught,  and  worse  than  naught  (as  far  as  the  conscious  aims 
to  which  they  were  sacrificed  are  concerned),  in  the  service  of 
this  wretched  and  abominable  delusion  of  a  rebellion  !  Oh, 
what  a  fearful  account  the  hoary  contrivers  and  drivers  of  its 
miserable  work  will  have  one  day  to  give ! 

Your  account  of  the  tone  and  temper  of  your  present 
charge  is  encouraging.  It  tallies,  too,  with  similar  observa- 
tions in  many  other  quarters.     No  doubt  the  hardness  and 


274 


LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.        [Chap.  XI. 


bitterness  of  years  past  are  giving  way,  and  heads  and  hearts 
appear  to  be  receiving  influences  to  wliicli,  no  longer  than 
a  few  months  ago,  they  seemed  to  be  obdurately  closed.  I 
am  ever  more  and  more  hopeful  on  that  score. 

The  same  day  that  your  first  letter,  with  the  enclosures, 
came  to  hand,  I  received  a  note  from  the  Prouds  sending  me 
a  long  letter  which  Miss  N.  had  received  from  Mrs.  Johnston ' 
in  Virginia.  Very,  very  difl'erent  in  its  details  of  quiet, 
patient,  uncomplaining  endurance  of  privations,  and  actual 
want,  and  isolation  from  all  friends,  and  the  tortures  of  hopes 
delayed  and  disappointed  and  perpetually-recurring  fears ! 
And  yet  the  same  spirit  and  influences  breathing  in  every 
page — even  the  Good  Spirit  from  above  breathing  influences  of 
peace  and  trust  and  love  and  holy  joy  into  the  souls  of  the 
one  household,  wheresoever  and  howsoever  sundered  and 
kept  apart.  I  could  not  but  reward  the  P.'s  kindness  to  me 
by  making  them  partakers  of  my  own  enjoyment  of  yours, 
and  communicated  to  them  and  Dr.  Evans  both  your  own 
letter  and  those  enclosed.  It  is  good  that  we  should  all  be 
bound  together  by  such  ties 

M.  is  now  gone  to  Eutaw  Place,  hoping  to  meet  A.,  who 
was  expected  here  last  evening.  We  all  look  with  glad 
expectance  for  her  visit. 

I  have  been  as  agreeably  disappointed  in  Smith's  Bible 
Dictionary  as  you  have  been  in  Alford.  It  is  a  work  of  great 
usefulness,  much  less  tinged  than  I  had  feared  with  rational- 
istic fancies  and  impertinencies.  Of  Stanley's  Jewish  Church 
(half  of  which  I  have  read)  I  accept  your  judgment  fully. 
Yours  lovingly,  W.  K.  W. 


The  Rev.  Dr.  Kerfoot  to  an  Old  Pupil  ivho  had  asked  His 
Advice  about  becoming  a  Candidate  for  Holy  Orders. 
College  of  St.  James,  Sunday  Evening,  Jan.  24,  1864. 
My  Dear , — Your  letter  of  this  day  a  week  ago  gave 


I  [Mrs.  Robert  N.  Johnston  (nee 
Pringle)  had,  a  few  years  before, 
been  lady-matron  of  the  Col- 
lege.   She    was    a    lady  of  the 


highest  breeding,  and  a  rare  ex- 
ample of  gentleness  and  of  every 
Christian  grace  that  can  adorn 
the  character  of  woman.] 


1864.]  LAST  YEAR  OF  ST.  JAMES'S.  275 

me  too  much  cause  for  joy  and  hope  to  be  thus  long  unan- 
swered, but  I  had  not  time.  I  write  this  evening  (and  the 
duty  well  becomes  the  day),  lest  if  I  wait  any  longer  my 
delay  may  become  too  great.  Then,  too,  I  wished  time  for 
thinking,  and  I  am  not  yet  done  thinking  about  your  case. 
As  to  your  personal  qualifications — physical,  mental,  moral 
and  religious — T  cannot  have  a  doubt.  No  one  that  knows  you 
can.  I  have  seen  your  piety  and  faith  triumphing  by,  as  well 
as  over,  your  peculiar  trials. 

The  one  only  point  is  the  philosophy  of  your  mind  touching  ^J^fJnoP'^'' 
theology.  Understand  me.  I  by  no  means  undertake  to  say  Hieoiogy. 
that  the  theology  and  churchmanship  of  any  man  is  just  the 
thing,  much  less  that  any  one  seeking  truth  is  to  aim  after 
any  such  model.  But  there  is  such  a  thing  as  the  system, 
however  comiirehensive  and  elastic,  yet  real.,  of  the  Church's 
theology,  and  there  is  such  a  thing  as  the  true  philosophy — 
mode  of  reasoning — in  her  theology.  Her  Prayer  Book,  Com- 
munion and  Baptismal  Offices,  etc.,  and  Articles,  prove  this. 
(With  this  one  point  in  view,  read  through  the  Communion 
and  Baptismal  Offices,  the  Creeds,  the  Ordination  Questions 
and  the  Articles.  Critical  architects  may  point  out  "  discrep- 
ancies," etc.,  but  is  there  not  before  one  a  house,  arealhoiise, 
grown  up  through  ages,  but  real  and  alive  and  fit  for  the 
soul's  home  and  shelter  ?) 

These  standards  are  not  mere  fences  to  hedge  in  some 
and  hedge  out  others :  they  are  the  various  sides  and 
expressions  of  the  Church's  (i.  e.,  the  Protestant  Epis- 
copal— Anglican — Church's)  doctrines  of  a  living  fruitful 
body  of  truth.  The  comfort  and  usefulness  of  a  minister 
depend  on  his  being  heartily  at  ease  and  at  home  in  this 
system,  etc.,  believing  and  philosophizing  with  it.  Then 
he  has  conscious  liberty  of  mind.  Some  minds  can  do 
this  naturally  or  by  training,  others  by  or  after  recovery  from 
perplexities.  It  is  well— need/wZ— that  the  Church's  minister 
should  be  free  in  this  sense.  The  question  for  one  contem- 
plating her  ministry  and  its  stringent  vows,  is  not  what  is,  in 
his  view,  or  may  yet  become  in  his  view,  truth.,  but — is  his 


276  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.  [Chap.  XI. 

mind  clear,  as  far  as  he  sees  or  anticipates,  that  this  her  system 
is  truth  ? 
Ihi>iMbeitUh£  ^ou  correctly  say  that  deacons  and  priests  are  every  year 
right  direction,  ordained  who  have  no  adequate  conception  that  any  difficulties 
exist  in  theology.  But  then  they  have  (or  ought  to  have — 
ought  by  their  examiners  and  Bishops  be  seen  to  have)  in- 
telligence enough  in  the  science  of  theology  to  have  set  out 
aright.  The  chances  and  risks  of  their  future  course  have  to 
be  taken.  But  their  pledge  is  very  distinct  and  strong;  and 
to  take  it  in  ignorance  is  an  error  scarcely  less  than  to  take  it 
in  carelessness  of  present  conviction  and  of  the  mind's 
tendency.  Anyhow,  their  case  is  not  that  of  one  who  has 
read  and  thought,  and  who  does  see  difficulties — radical  ones, 
I  mean.  When  he  has  wrought  his  way  through  those  up  to 
peaceful,  assured  acceptance  of  the  Church's  system,  he  will 
be  in  many  respects  a  very  peculiarly  useful  man  ;  though  the 
risk  and  cost  to  him  have  been  great.  But  while  he  is  un- 
settled, how  can  he  pledge  his  faith  in  her  doctrines — and 
their  philosophy— to  the  Church?  His  doubts  ought  to  be 
solved,  or  to  his  mind  surely  dissolving,  before  he  vows ; 
because,  till  then,  he  cannot  tell  but  that  his  vows  may 
become  impossible  to  him.  A  man  in  the  ministry  may  be 
overtaken  by  such  trials.  His  duty  then  is  to  wait,  pray, 
work  on  in  hope  and  loyalty  to  his  Church.  One  not  yet  in 
the  office  ought  to  pass  through  all  or  most  of  his  struggle 
before  he  vows.  And  then,  what  he,  and  we  all,  need  is  not 
so  much  that  all  points  should  be  solved  in  detail,  but  that 
the  mind's  hent  and  philosophy  should  be  set  aright.  I  infer 
from  your  letter  that  this  is  so— becoming  so  with  you.  You 
are  too  honest  and  too  intelligent  in  this  very  matter,  to  feel 
free  to  draw  nearer  the  ministry,  without  the  consciousness  of 
some  such  change  begun  or  going  on. 
EUicott.  Aiford,     Now,  to  make  myself  a  little  clearer,  I   instance   these 

Stanley.  f  i,         ,  ■,         ,.    . 

of  the  ablest  livmg  teachers  of  our  Church— EUicott,  Alford 
and  Stanley.  EUicott  is  a  man  and  scholar  whom  you 
ought  to  study  and  follow;  a  real,  bold  philologist  and 
interpreter;  but  full  of  true  philosophical  reverence.  Give 
your  mind  to  him.     Alford,  though  his  theory  of  the  inspi- 


1864.]  LAST  YEAR  OF  ST.  JAMES'S.  277 

ration  of  the  books  falls  short  (iu  my  view),  his  philos- 
ophy of  faith  is  full  and  deep.  He  believes  miracles 
mysteries  (the  Incarnation,  Temptation  of  our  Lord,  etc.), 
and  reads  God  in  the  very  words  of  the  Kew  Testament. 
Stanley  is  out  of  place  in  the  Anglican  Church,  and  knows 
it ;  but  thinks  he  ought  to  bring  the  Church  about.  He  is 
very  fascinating,  brilliant,  scholarly,  etc.,  but  the  surplice 
looks  strange  on  him.  Such  a  theologian,  if  not  in  the 
ministry,  ought  not  to  go  into  it;  if  in  it,  ought  to  be  loyally 
quiet,  though  he  could  not  be  happy.  If  he  cannot  be  quiet, 
he  ought  to  withdraw.  If  Alford  were  a  young  man  and  my 
pupil  in  theology,  I  would  encourage  him  to  go  on  and  try  to 
correct  some  points  in  his  philosophy.  Stanley  I  would 
advise  to  remain  a  layman.  Ellicott  I  would  welcome  as  a 
noble,  true,  free  type  of  Anglican  theology  and  hermeneutics 
in  this  age. 
You  see  what  I  mean?    By  all  means  come  and  spend  ^"'<^«^'''^'' 

''  ^  Coleridge. 

the  week — several  of  them — with  us  here,  anyhow.  I  should 
like  you  to  name  the  hooks  you  desire  to  talk  of,  that  I  may 
not  stumble  on  some  unread  or  forgotten  by  me.  I  wish 
I  could  hope  to  be  able  to  do  you  the  service  you  ask.  Your 
words  to  me  make  the  eflbrt  very  pleasant  to  me.  Coleridge's 
Aphorism  XIX  and  Comment  (in  the  Aids  to  Reflection)  I 
have  carefully  read,  and  I  think  I  understand  his  comments, 
etc.,  on  that  aphorism.  I  cannot  see  what  he  gains  in  the 
way  of  clearing  up  mystery  or  removing  perplexity.  He  says 
the  figurative  language  in  Holy  Scripture  about  the  Redemp- 
tion does  not  mean  this  nor  that.,  but  he  does  not  say  what  it 
does  mean.  Redemption  he  uses  in  the  question  he  proposes 
to  answer,  in  one  sense — sc,  our  rescue  from,  Shi's  guilt  and 
penalty — and  the  same  word.,  in  his  response.,  he  takes  as  if  it 
covers  all  Christ's  work  for  and  in  us — our  sanctijication  and 
full  salvatioii.  He  does  not  answer  the  question  agreed  on, 
but  another,  which  he  substitutes,  with  the  same  word  in  it,  in 
a  sense  covering  its  previous  sense,  and  a  world  of  meaning 
besides.  If  his  logic  were  drawn  out  into  S3'llogisms,  he 
would  (I  think)  be  found  guilty  of  using  an  "ambiguous 
middle  "  in  that  word  redemption.    Then  (to  be  still  more 


278  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.  [Chap.  XI. 

presumptuous)  he  adopts  the  semi- Romish  (or  full  Romish) 
exaggeration  of  the  Incarnation  of  Christ — apart  from  His 
death — as  the  fountain  of  all  He  does  for  us.  He  lauds  Luther 
for  his  "justification-by-faith  "  doctrine,  and  in  the  same  page 
runs  oil"  into  this  piece  of  Romanism,  out  of  which  springs, 
logically,  all  that  excessive  sacramentalism  of  Rome,  which 
kills  out  the  faith  which  (he  rightly  says)  Luther  duly  exalted 
in  our  justification.  Christ's  Incarnation  =:  our  regeneration 
1=  our  redemption  (i.  e.,  full,  entire  salvation),  is  the  ultra- 
Puseyism  of  Archdeacon  Wilberforce,  and  logically  shuts 
Luther  and  his  faith  out  in  the  cold.  If  Coleridge  be  logical 
in  that  comment,  then  the  divines  of  Rome  and  England  have 
all  been  illogical.  Then  he  certainly  talks  Calvinism  about 
the  limiting  of  Christ's  redemption  to  the  saved  {i.  e.,  to  those 
who  have  faith),  and  forgets  his  own  catechism  when  he 
sneers  at  the  idea  that  baptism  means  something  (put  together 
the  answers  as  to  the  meaning  of  "sacraments"  and  the 
"inward  part  of  baptism").  Coleridge  was  a  great  philos- 
opher.    Was  he  a  soberly,  widely-read  theologian  ? 

But  I  meant  not  thus  to  run  on.  The  strictly  vicarious 
theory  of  Atonement  is  not  the  only  one  held  in  our  Church. 
Bishop  H.  U.  Onderdonk  held  that  the  death  of  Christ  was 
in  some  way  a  mighty  exhibition  of  the  efiects  of  guilt  and 
sin.  Bishop  Butler  {Analogy^  Part  II,  chap.  5,  sec.  6 — last 
part  of  it,  and  all  of  sec.  7),  says  just  what,  and  all,  I  should 
like  to  say  to  you.  Read  that,  if  you  will  (and  Waterland's 
Doctrine  of  the  Eucharist^  chap.  4,  first  half  of  it  [in  my 
edition,  Vol.  IV,  p.  512-17],  and  his  31st  sermon  [Vol.  V,  p. 
727],  Oxford,  1843). 

Will  you,  dear ,  write  me  again  and  more  fully  ?    Your 

letter,  as  I  say,  seems  to  me  to  mean  more  than  you  felt  safe 
yet  to  express.  I  thank  God  with  all  my  heart  for  your 
reviving  hope  that  you  can  enter  His  ministry.  I  am  sure 
you  see  more  light.  My  prayers  have  been,  and  shall  be,  for 
your  full  release  from  every  doubt  and  difficulty.  I  do  believe 
that  the  habit  of  looking  for  omvSala  is  yom*  chief  trouble. 
Do  not  waste  time  on  this  and  that  point.  Believe  that  you 
may  know  is  not  mere  piety :  it  is  sound  sense  and  old  wisdom. 


1864.]  LAST  YEAR  OF  ST.  JAMES'S.  279 

Aud  go  to  see  the  Bishop  [Whittingham] .  1  happeu  to  have 
had  knowledge  that  he  missed  j'our  visits.  You  know  his  heart 
— no  matter  about  his  earnest  manner.  You  trust  and  love  him, 
I  know.  Go,  in  that  feeling.  He  will  welcome  3^ou  and  help 
you.  Oh,  if  3^ou  could  walk  forward  in  the  fiiith  3'our  heart 
craves  to  have — out  of  this  twilight  into  the  bright,  blessed 
daylight  of  the  Church's  clear,  wide,  real  truth — you  would  be 
happy  and  very  useful.  May  the  Sph-it  of  Liberty  lead  you 
out  into  His  own  truth  ! 

I  will  retain  your  papers  now  till  I  hear  from  or  see  you.  You 
cannot  ofler  them  till  Lent  begins.  The  Standing  Committee 
does  not  meet  till  the  first  week  of  Lent.  And  this  delay— 
if  needful — is  right  and  safe  for  you  and  Christ's  people. 
The  way  once  clear,  your  cheerful  progress  will  be  your  gain 
and  the  Church's.  God  bless  you,  my  dear  son !  With 
warmest  love,  your  friend, 

J.  B.  K. 

As  the  session  of  1863-6-i  drew  to  its  close,  it  became 
painfully  evident  that  it  was  likely  to  be  the  last 
session  of  St.  James's  College.  The  final  break-up 
will  be  fonnd  to  be  so  fully  described  by  Dr.  Kerfoot's 
intimate  friend  and  colleague,  the  Rev.  Joseph  H. 
Coit,'  that  it  is  not  necessary  here  to  do  more  than 
quote  a  few  passages  from  Dr.  Kerfoot's  own  letters 
and  diaries.  These  will  show  that  Mr.  Coit  perfectly 
understood,  and  has  by  no  means  overstated,  the  diffi- 
culties of  the  situation. 

In  June,  1864,  Dr.  Kerfoot  received,  through  Dr.  Dr.  shattwk. 

'  '  J  &  Trinity  College. 

George  C.  Shattuck,  of  Boston — always  a  most  gener- 
ous friend  of  St.  James's — overtures  respecting  the 
Presidency  of  Trinity  College,  Hartford.  The 
question  of  the  possibility  of  going  on  with  the 
College  of  St.  James,  on  the  very  border-line  between 

'  See  Chap.  XII,  Pt.  2cl,  aud  Appendix  to  this  Chapter. 


280  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.  [Chap.  XI. 

the  two  armies,  required  immediate  and  definite 
settlement.  In  a  long  letter  (June  18)  to  Bishop 
Whittingham,  the  Rector  speaks  freely  of  his  per- 
plexity— the  impossibility  of  keeping  on,  and  yet  his 
pain  in  giving  up  what  he  had  looked  upon  as  his 
life's  work  : 

Of  course,  this  inquiry  [whether  he  would  take  the  Presi- 
dency of  Trinity]  seems  to  me  not  to  be  disregarded.  Here 
I  have  loved,  as  I  think  I  never  can  again  love,  any  work. 
It  seems  impossible  that  St.  James's  should  stop ;  almost 

impossible  that  I  should  leave  it My  whole  family 

feel  just  as  I  do.  Maryland,  and  you,  and  all  the  ties,  are 
very  near  and  dear.  My  life's  work,  and — I  think  I  may  call 
it — righteous  ambition,  would  keep  me  as  and  where  I  am. 

You  know  all  this Were  I  still  fitted  for  it,  parish 

work  would  be  my  choice  if  St.  James's  ceased.  But  no 
such  work  would  be  likely  to  ofler  itself  to  me  in  Maryland, 
nor  perhaps  anywhere,  that  would  so  well  meet  my  needs 
and  habits  as  some  College  work.  To  be  free  to  resume  St. 
James's,  if  ever  it  became  practicable,  would  be  my  desire. 
Parish  work  would  better  permit  this.  So  my  mind  runs  on. 
....  I  have  read  all  this  to  Mr.  Coit,  who  shares  my  thoughts 
and  feelings  in  these  matters.  Think  over  it.  We  will  try  to 
bear  or  do  as  He  wills,  who  has  so  long  and  wonderfully 
helped  and  tried  our  work.  Pardon  my  haste  and  incoherence. 
I  am,  my  dear  Bishop,  ever  daily,  more  and  more  lovingly, 
your  son  in  Christ, 

J.  B.  Kerfoot. 

A  few  days  later,  after  a  visit  from  Dr.  Shattuck, 
he  writes  again  to  Bishop)  Whittingham : 

....  Dr.  S.  at  once  entered  on  this  matter  of  Trinity  Col- 
lege. He  speaks  for  Bishop  Williams The  contin- 
gencies that  may  yet  prevent  the  offer  are  few  and  small,  etc. 
Of  course,  just  as  ever,  we  long  to  keep  up  our  own  Col- 


1864.]  LAST  YEAR  OF  ST.  JA3IES'S.  281 

lege,  but  prudence  requires  me  to  consider  such  a  proposition 
as  this,  and  the  trustees  must  take  the  responsibility  of  sa}'- 
ing  whether  the  College  is  to  go  on.  I  must  not  be  left  to 
decide  the  question,  nor  to  solicit,  year  by  year,  salaries  for 
myself  and  others.  Dr.  Shattuck's  past  and  present  deeds 
and  gifts  to  St.  James's,  his  present  offer  to  the  College,  if  it 
continues,  and  his  errand  for  Trinity,  bring  this  whole  matter 

up  before  the  trustees I  have  but  one  personal  reason 

of  force  that  makes  me  (now  as  for  eighteen  months  past) 
desire  a  change — my  wife's  health.  Dr.  S.  thinks  the  change 
very  probably  desirable  for  her.  Hard-worked  as  we  all  are, 
we  would  not  refuse  to  work  on,  if  we  could  see  the  promise 
of  successful,  full  co-operation. 

Once  more,  July  16,  to  Bishop  Whittingham,  after 
the  raid  which  had  caused  the  College  hastily  to  dis- 
band : 

If  you  think  of  this  care  on  my  heart  for  wife  and  son, 
added  to  the  toil  and  anxiety  for  the  College,  you  will  not  won- 
der that  I  sometimes  look  longingly  for  change  and  rest.  But 
I  have  great  comfort  in  feeling  that  I  do  wish  to  have  God's 
will,  not  mine,  wrought  out.  Perhaps  Abel  and  I  may  drop 
in  on  Mrs.  Whittingham  next  week.  My  plans  must  be  con- 
tingent on  many  things.  Among  others,  we  have  had  to-day 
rumors  of  Longstreet's  being  at  Winchester,  etc 

In  this  state  of  doubt  he  made  a  short  visit  to  Bal- 
timore after  the  session  at  St.  James's  had  closed.  He 
left  Baltimore,  en  route  for  Boston,  quite  hopeless, 
and  almost  satisfied  that  if  Trinity  College  should  be 
oflered,  prudence  and  duty  to  himself  and  his  family 
would  alike  require  him  to  accept  it.  All  this,  as 
well  as  the  stirring  events  that  followed,  will  be  best 
told  in  the  brief  but  graphic  jottings  of  his  own 
diary. 


282 


LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.  [Chap.  XI. 


Diary. 

March  1, 1864. — Forty-eight  years  old  to-day!  twenty-seven 
years  in  the  holy  ministry.  Read  through  in  my  ordination 
prayer-book  the  ordination  services  of  deacon  and  priest — 
the  same  pages  I  read  from  twenty-seven  and  twenty-four 

years  ago  this  day God  has  been  very,  very  good 

to  me  these  many  years.  He  is  a  dear,  good  Father  to  his 
sinful  child,  through  Christ.  I  will  love  and  serve  Him 
more,  by  His  grace.    All  well  and  cheerful  at  home  and 

all  very  loving  to  me  to-day God  bless  wife  and 

children !  .  .  .  . 

June  2. — Dr.  Coxe  came  to  deliver  his  course  of  Lectures 
on  English  Literature.' 
Confederate  Sunda}',  July  3. — About  7  o'clock  p.  m.  came  strong  rumors 
of  rebel  attacks  on  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad.  Neighbor- 
hood alarmed ;  taking  off  their  horses.  Boys  interested,  not 
unduly  excited  ;  no  wrong  feeling.  I  think  it  is  a  raid,  no 
more.    May  God  shelter  us  all ! 

July  4. — Bright,  pleasant  day.  Sent  out  "scouts"  (four 
students)  to  Williamsport  and  Lappan's  Cross-Roads  for 
news.  By  them  and  by  others  we  learned  that  a  large  force 
was  near  the  river,  under  Ewell  aud  Early.  Signs  of  cross- 
ing ;  an  invasion,  not  a  raid.  About  noon,  our  horses  (nine 
in  all)  went  off  under  Dr.  Talk's  care  with  two  men  and  one 
of  the  students  (H.  Hooper)  for  safety. 

Agitating  rumors  all  day.  Known  by  night  that  the  Con- 
federate pickets  wai'e  in  Williamsport  (four  miles  distant),  aud 
the  Union  pickets  in  Hagerstown  (six  miles  off)  and  at  Lap- 
pan's  Cross-Roads  (two  and  a  half  miles  off").  At  midday, 
by  the  help  of  the  boys  and  our  men,  we  moved  all  our  meat 
from  the  meat-house  up  to  the  attics,  etc.,  and  our  butter 


'  [Dr.  Kei'foot  sajs  later:  "His 
visit  and  lectures  most  delight- 
ful." Farther  on,  he  speaks  of 
the  lectures  of  Dr.  Hugh  Dave^' 
Evans  on  Law  and  History-,  and 
of  those  of  Dr.  Shattuck  on  Anat- 


omy and  Hygiene,  etc.  This 
shows  that  up  to  the  end,  and 
with  war's  alarms  at  the  very 
doors,  every  effort  was  made  to 
keep  the  College  course  of  studies 
fully  up  to  the  mark.] 


1864.]  LAST  YEAR  OF  ST.  JAMES'S.  283 


from  the  spring-house  to  the  basement  of  Claggett  Hall ;  all 
the  boys  behaving  quietly,  well  and  kindly.  Mr.  Coster  and 
Earp  went  to  Hagerstown  for  the  mail  and  supplies. 

July  5. — At  11  o'clock  pretty  sure  word  of  Confederate 
forces  at  Sharpsburg  and  Keedysville.  "Scouts"  went  otf 
for  news,  and  Earp  and  Griswold  to  Hagerstown  for  addi- 
tional supplies.  Fight  and  skirmish  from  Hagerstown  to 
Lappan's  Cross-Roads  from  three  to  four  o'clock.  Went 
through  the  day^sfuU  work.  Two  Juniors,  C.  Pitts  and  Mid- 
dleton,  sat  up  as  watchmen.  Dr.  Falk  and  Hooper  came 
back  safe. 

Jul}''  6. — Anniversary  of  my  mother'' s  death. — Quiet  till  11 
o'clock.  Then  Dr.  Falk  drove  out  to  look  after  some  matters  ; 
soon  came  back;  he  had  been  stopped  and  robbed  by  2i iier.  Dr.  Falk 
lieutenant  and  two  soldiers  of  watch,  cigar-case,  etc.  (He 
had  a  considerable  sum  of  money  with  him,  which  he  just 
succeeded  in  concealing  in  his  boot.)  Just  as  he  was  telling 
his  story,  came  the  same  lieutenant  and  men  for  horses. 
They  took  our  tvvo  old  grays — old  Jerry  and  Jim  (the  latter 
out  of  Dr.  F.'s  buggy) — and  Black  Turk,  leaving  us  no  horse 
at  all.  The  boys.  Southern  and  all,  very  indignant  at  Dr. 
Falk's  robbery.  We  at  once  set  to  work  to  scatter  our  store- 
room contents.  The  boys  gave  their  watches  to  the  ladies  to 
wear  on  their  persons.  About  3  p.  m.  Monegan's  wife  (from 
a  neighboiing  farm)  came  over  weeping  and  begging  for  help  ; 
''  they  were  robbing  her,"  etc.  I  started  out  with  some  boys 
to  bring  away  her  clothes,  etc.,  and  just  then  "Lieut.  Jones, 
commanding  the  115th  X.  Y.  Hawk  Eyes,"  so  he  gave  his 
name  afterwards,  came  dashing  up  over  the  lawn,  with  some 
six  men,  pistols  drawn,  right  towards  our  boys  (all  of  whom 
were  standing  outside),  calling  out  to  me  :  "  Well,  you  are 
all  in  arms  against  us ;  turn  out  your  cadets  and  let's  see 
them  fight!  "  [The  brief,  hurried  diary  does  not  record  all 
that  took  place.  As  reported  by  eye-witnesses.  Dr.  Kerfoot 
sprang  out  in  front  of  his  boys,  and  when  the  "lieutenant" 
called  out  to  him,  as  above  mentioned,  he  answered  in  his 
firm,  strong  voice,  "If  you  will  get  down  ofl'  your  horse,  and 
speak  like  a  gentleman,  I  will  talk  with  you."     The  man 


284 


LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT. 


[Chap.  XI. 


looked  at  him  with  a  surprised  countenance  for  a  moment, 
and  then  dismounted.  Dr.  Kerfoot  courteously  lifted  his  hat, 
stepped  forward  and  oflered  his  hand,  saying,  "  You  are  mis- 
taken, sir,  in  supposing  these  young  men  to  be  cadets.  I  am 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Kerfoot,  and  this  is  a  College  of  the  Episcopal 
Church.  If  you  look  up  you  will  see  the  cross  over  the 
chapel.  Firearms  are  not  allowed  among  our  students."  The 
lieutenant  changed  his  demeanor  and  turned  to  his  men,  say- 
ing they  seemed  to  have  made  a  mistake,  and  then  introduced 
himself  to  Dr.  Kerfoot.  The  diary  continues :]  He  then 
became  very  courteous,  quite  satisfied  of  our  character,  but 
avowed  himself  and  his  men  partisan  rangers,  not  bound  by 
any  laws  of  war,  took  no  prisoners,  etc.,  etc.  He  said  they 
had  enlisted  in  New  York  to  get  South,  and  then  had  deserted, 
but  kept  their  old  name.  They  then  went  ofl',  leaving  us  very 
uneasy.  A  perilous  position,  as  aW  felt  it  to  be.  We  are  in 
the  midst  of  outlaw  soldiers  and  robbers.  God  keep  us  all ! 
St  James's  not  Clear  now  that  St.  James's  is  not  to  live  here.     God's  will  be 

to  live  here. 

done ! 

July  7. — First  day  of  midsummer  examination.  Last  night 
all  quiet.  No  news  till  10  and  11  o'clock.  Then  word  came 
of  the  burning  of  storehouses  at  Williamsport,  robbery  of  in- 
habitants tiiere,  etc.^  Later  in  the  day  word  came  that 
Hagerstown  had  been  forced  to  pay  $30,000—820,000  cash, 
and  $10,000  in  clothes,  stores,  etc.  The  Confederates  were 
going  thence  towards  Boonsboro.     Only  two  horsemen  and 


'  [The  italics  evidently  mean 
that  Southerners  no  less  than 
Unionists  felt  this.] 

"^  [Dr.  Kerfoot,  of  course,  knew 
that  these  acts,  as  well  as  the 
subsequent  burning  of  Chambers- 
burg,  were  done  in  retaliation  for 
the  recent  devastations  of  private 
property  in  Virginia  by  Gen. 
Hunter.  Hunter's  doings  had 
increased  the  fears  of  the  Mary- 
landers  and  Penusylvanians.    In 


a  letter  to  Bishop  Whittingham, 
written  at  this  very  time,  July 
5,  1864,  Dr.  K.  says:  "The 
wicked  and  needless  destruction 
of  private  and  other  unwarlike 
property  by  Hunter  lately,  made 
us  anxious  for  mills  and  colleges  if 
the  rebels  should  cross  the  river. 
I  wish  Mr.  Lincoln  would  repro- 
bate and  prohibit  what  we  should 
agree  would  be  gross  wrong 
against  us,  if  done  here  by  Con- 
federates."! 


1864.]  LAST  YEAR  OF  ST.  JAMES'S.  285 

three  foot-soldiers  passed  through  our  grounds  to-day.  We 
hear  of  robberies  all  around  us,  but  God  has  thus  far  merci- 
fully kept  us  with  little  harm.  No  word  3'et  of  our  horses, 
nor  of  U.  S.  armies,  near  or  distant.  Our  College  examina- 
tion (!)  took  place  from  8.30  a.  m.  to  12,  and  from  -4  to  5 
p.  m.  We  so  far  shortened  the  hours  that  five  hours  instead 
of  six  and  a  half  were  given  to  examination.  All  goes  on 
well.  The  boys  behave  beautifully.  T.  Pitts,  Mealey, 
Campbell  and  Chiswell  watched  last  night.  I  was  quite  worn 
out  by  midnight,  and  lay  down  and  slept.  Tliese  days  are 
very  wearing,  but  God  lovingly  keeps  us. — Got  promise  of 
fresh  beef  (lately  killed  and  salted)  from  Rowland  to-morrow 
for  dinner.     A  tierce  fire  at  Sharpsburg  at  11  p.  m. 

July  8. — Examinations  went  on  three  and  a  half  hours  in  closing  daiju. 
the  morning,  one  hour  in  the  afternoon.  Order,  temper, 
work,  excellent.  Day  quiet.  About  10  o'clock  Confederate 
cavalry  in  twos  or  threes  went  through  the  grounds.  About 
12  o'clock  word  comes  of  a  barn  of  Mr.  Hammond's  burnt 
last  night ;  and  this  afternoon  a  squad  of  drunken  soldiers 
burned  down  a  distillery  and  farmhouse  ("  Dalton  ")  two 
miles  from  us.  Violence  and  fires  are  now  of  daily  occur- 
rence. So  far,  we  are  safe,  thank  God !  but  we  have  many 
perils — never  so  man}'  real  ones  before  in  any  year. 

Houses  are  searched  under  pretense  of  looking  for  arms  ; 
money  is  really  the  object.  Some  neighbors  have  been 
violently  robbed  under  threats  and  attempts  to  kill.  We  have 
a  watch  to-night  of  six  vigilant,  stout  "■  boys."  The  whole 
tone  of  our  boys  is  noble.  They  do  much  of  the  work  of  our 
absent  men :  bring  the  meat,  mend  the  pump,  etc.,  etc.  I 
never  liked  any  set  better — seldom  as  well.  Southern  and  all 
are  one  with  us  in  these  things  now.  This  last  week  (last 
of  St.  James's,  on  this  spot)  is  full  of  zeal,  warm  and  loving, 
as  well  as  of  anxieties.     God  bless  the  dear  boys  and  us  all ! 

July  9. — Oral  examination  of  tlie  College  classes.  Day  quiet. 
No  Confederates  seen  or  heard  of  near  us.  They  seem  to 
have  gone  east  towards  Frederick.  No  more  just  now  among 
us.  Laus  Maxima  Deo!  They  may  come  back  on  retreat 
this  way.     Fred  comes  this  evening.     Our  horses  safe  in  the 


286  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.  [Chap.  XI. 

mountains  ;  right  glad.  This  afternoon  was  to  have  been  the 
Confirmation  by  Bishop  Whittingham.  God  has  hindered  ; 
His  will  be  done  ! 

July  10. — 7th  Sunday  after  Trinity.  Services  as  usual. 
(A.  F.,  J.  B.  K.,  J.  H.  C,  R.  J.  C.)  Administered  Holy 
Communion ;  sixteen  communicants.  Preached  6  oclock 
p.  m.,  extemporaneously,  closing  sermon  of  the  year,  on  the 
Gospel  for  the  day.  Communicants'  meeting  7  a.  m.  Private 
talks  with  six  of  the  communicants  [whose  names  are  men- 
tioned]. Quiet  day.  Pony  belonging  to  the  Kennedys 
stolen  last  night  from  the  stable.  News  of  Frederick  City 
being  taxed  $60,000,  and  word  of  Hunter's  troops  coming 
from  Hancock.  Mr.  Coit  and  B.  Campbell  went  to  Hagers- 
town  to  inquire. 

My  closing  Sunday  services.  Probably  my  last  as  Rector. 
If  so,  His  will  be  done  ! 

July  11. — Examination  of  Senior  Class  from  9  to  11.30.  Mr. 
Coit  comes  out  from  Hagerstown,  bringing  rumors  of  Con- 
federates burning  a  bridge  on  N.  C.  R.  R.  at  Cockeysville, 
etc.,  etc.  Frederick  taxed  $200,000,  etc.,  etc.  What  does 
all  this  mean  ?  4  p.  m.,  Mr.  B.  [former  Curator  of  the  College, 
a  gentleman  who  sympathized  with  the  South]  flies  to  me 
from  threats  of  killing  by  four  United  States  soldiers,  who 
went  to  seek  him  at  his  farm  on  the  Sharpsburg  turnpike. 
Mr.  Coit  and  I  go  over  to  his  house,  Mr.  B.  staying  up  stairs 
in  the  Rectory  and  not  going  home  all  night.  Slept  in  Mr. 
C.'s  room.  Mr.  C.  at  liis  house.  All  quiet  so  far  (11  p.  m.). 
To-night  rumors  of  Confederates  at  Tovvsontowu,  Ellicott's 
Mills — hardly  true.  Arranged  to-day  to  have  our  Commence- 
ment— private — to-morrow  at  4  p.  m.,  and  send  ofl'  all  on 
Wednesday.  But  we  may  have  to  keep  the  Baltimore  boys 
for  a  while. 
A  hmried  ^"^1  1^. — Compositions  and  declamations  from  9  to  10.30 
''Commence- 2i^  m.  for  College  classes.    About   10.30  came  word  that  a 

ment.  ^ 

large  force  of  Confederates — 40,000— were  coming  from 
Boonsboro  to  Hagerstown.  We  decide  to  have  "Commence- 
ment "at  once.  So,  at  11  o'clock,  in  the  chapel,  all  four 
clerg3'  in  tl»e  chancel,  with  suitable,  brief  service  and  address. 


1864.]  LAST  YEAR  OF  ST.  JAMES'S.  287 

I  admitted  S.  Earp,  T.  D.  Pitts,  E.  Mealey,  J.  B.  Chesley, 
A.  Neill  (absent),  Bachelors  in  Arts ;  and  Abel  A.  Kerfoot, 
Rev.  L.  J.  Mills,  Rev.  R.  G.  Hutton  and  Dr.  W.  G.  Harrison, 
Masters  in  Arts.  At  2  p.  m.,  fourteen  boys  went  ofi'  North, 
to  Chambersburg,  by  stage.  This  evening  there  are  twelve 
still  here,  most  being  Baltimoreans  whose  home  is  not 
accessible  now.  Thus  my  closing  academic  work  here  is 
done!  God's  will  be  done  to  His  glory,  in  Jesus  Christ! 
Amen! 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Kerfoot  to  the  Bishop  of  Maryland. 
College  of  St.  James,  Md.,  July  12,  1864,  12.30  p.  m. 
My  Dear  Bishop, — You  know  how  changed  things  are  from 
my  anticipations  in  my  letter  a  week  ago  to-day.  We  have 
just  had  our  Commencement  in  the  chapel ;  that  is  to  say,  no 
speeches,  but  only  conferring  of  degrees  on  four  B.  A.'s  and 
four  M.  A.'s — one  of  the  last  four,  Abel,  receiving  it  in 
person.  We  have  gone  fully  through  this  whole  examination 
amid  much  excitement  all  around  us.  The  students  have 
behaved  nobly — every  one  obedient  and  quiet,  and  all  the 
older  ones  uniting  to  do  the  work  of  some  of  the  workmen 
who  were  absent  keeping  watch,  etc.  We  had  planned  our 
private  \)Vit  full  Commencement  (the  usual  speeches,  etc.)  at 
4  p.  m.  to-day,  but  news  came  of  the  cutting  of  the  Phila- 
delphia R.  R.,  and  of  large  Southern  force  coming  to  Hagers- 
town,  very  near.  So  we  decided  to  have  the  conferring  of 
degrees  in  the  chapel  at  once,  and  let  all  who  could  go  North 
to  their  homes  or  to  near  friends'  houses,  do  so  at  once.  The 
Baltimore  boys  mostly  stay  here  till  more  reliable  word 
comes.  All  are  well  and  safe.  The  details  of  the  week 
past  must  await  a  future  narration  ;  paper  would  be  a  poor 
medium,  and  I  have  not  time.  May  God  carry  us  through 
safely  !  Our  prayers  and  sympathies  are  with  you  and  you 
all.  If  this  be,  as  it  must  seem,  the  close  of  our  College 
work  here  or  anywhere,  then  old  St.  James's  falls,  by  God's 
grace,  with  her  hand  on  the  plough  and  the  plough  in  the 
furrow  ;  or,  to  speak  more  correctly,  she  finished  to-day  one 
harvest  more  and  housed  it  before  the  storm  !    Thanks  be  to 


288  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.  [Chap.  XI. 

God !  We  are  by  no  means  sure  that  any  will  get  oft"  to 
Hagerstown  and  beyond.  This  letter  may  not  get  through. 
The  events  of  this  hour  in  Hagerstown  may  prevent  the 
egress  of  our  boys  from  here  as  well  as  from  there.  Ever 
your  loving  son  in  Christ, 

J.  B.  Kerfoot. 

Diary. 

Wednesday,  July  13. — Spent  to-day  reading  Romola.  No 
rumors,  I  think,  of  alarming  character.  Ko  work  done  by 
the  tvvelve  boys  still  here,  but  chapel,  meals,  etc.,  at  regular 
hours. 

July  14. — Busy  till  dinner  entering  records  into  the  book 
of  "  Records  of  Degrees,"  etc,  for  1863  and  1864. 
Home  anxieties.  At  dinner,  at  2.30,  my  dear  wife  suddenly  struck  with  rush 
of  blood  to  the  head ;  very  ill  for  an  hour  and  a  half.  I 
thought  her  going  to  die.  It  was  a  dreadful  agony  for  the 
time.  I  used  vigorous  remedies  (the  doctor  afterward 
approved  them),  and  Dr.  D.  came  at  4  p.  m.  and  was  able 
to  bleed  her  and  she  rallied.  Thank  God,  she  is  spared  yet! 
Mrs.  Kennedy  and  Mrs.  Griswoldcame  out  from  Hagerstown, 
and  Mrs.  K.  stayed  here  till  Friday  evening.  Rumors,  not 
proving  correct,  of  more  Confederates. 

July  15. — Wife  better.  The  mail  of  all  the  days  (save  one) 
since  the  2d  came  to-day.  Among  my  letters  was  one  from 
Dr.  Shattuck  telling  of  the  probable  hopelessness  of  his  visit 
to  the  trustees  in  Baltimore ;  he  despairs  of  St.  James's,  and 
then  speaks  of  matters  at  Trinity  College ;  a  letter  from  Mr. 
W.  G.  Harrison  advising  giving  up  the  College  during  the  war. 
I  was  much  depressed  by  my  alarm  of  yesterday  and  by  these 
letters.    Nice  letter  from  S.  H.  K. 

July  16. — Day  quiet.  Long  conference  with  Mr.  Coit  and 
Dr.  Falk. 

July  17.— 8th  Sunday  after  Trinity.  10.20  p.  m.  The  last 
eleven  of  our  boys  have  just  set  out  in  a  stage  for  Frederick 
and  Baltimore.  There  are  yet  one  and  a  half  hours  of 
Sunday,  and  I  regret  not  keeping  to  first  plan,  which  was  to 
start  at  12  ;  but  their  long  delay  (since  Tuesday  last),  and  the 


1864.]  LAST  YEAR  OF  ST.  JAMES'S.  289 

probable  dela3's  on  the  way,  etc.,  induced  me  to  say  they 
might  set  out  now.  I  have  talked  to-day  with  each  one  of 
them  [here  follow  the  names  of  the  eleven  boys] .  My  heart 
is  very  sad.  Perhaps — probably— this  is  the  full  end  of  my 
work  here.  I  have  come  back  to  my  study  and  prayed  the 
Lord's  Prayer,  and  asked  pardon  for  all  my  shortcomings 
these  twenty-two  years,  and  will,  by  God's  help,  face  the 

future Chapel  services  10.30  a.  m.    Dr.  Falk  preached 

on  Jacob's  wrestling ;  6  p.  m.,  J.  B.  K.  preached  brief  sermon 
on  St.  Matt.  xi.  28,  29,  30  ("Come  unto  me,  all  ye  that  labor 
and  are  heavy  laden,"  etc.). — "  Thy  will  be  done  on  earth  as  it 
is  in  Heaven !" 

July  18. — Made  anxious  by  rumors  of  "rebels  crossing," 
and  by  sounds  of  loud  cannonading  a  little  west  of  us. 

July  19. — All  quiet.  Anxious,  wearisome  days,  all  these 
now.     Anxieties  for  home  health  and  College  plans. 

July  20. — Wednesday.  Getting  ready  to  set  out  to-morrow 
with  Abel  for  Baltimore  and  Boston.  May  God  prosper  my 
eft'orts  for  the  College  and  for  Abel's  health,  and  keep  my 
dear,  dear  wife  and  children  and  myself  safe  !  .  .  .  . 

Dr.  Shattuck  had  recommended  his  taking  Abel  to  jo,ir7iey  to  Bai- 
Boston  to  consult  Dr.  Brown-Sequard,  and  this  vfas^Zfton""'' 
one  purpose  of  the  journey.  Of  course,  he  could  not 
leave  his  family  in  this  part  of  Maryland  without  the 
gravest  anxiety,  which  subsequent  events  too  fully 
justified.  They  reached  Baltimore  on  Thursday  night, 
July  21,  by  the  first  throiigh  train  since  the  raid,  and 
took  lodgings  at  the  Eutaw  House. 

July  22. — Friday.  Got  up  with  bad  headache.  We  went 
to  Bishop  W.'s  to  breakfast,  and  then  had  long  conversation 
with  the  Bishop  about  the  College  and  our  hopes  and  plans.  . 
The  Bishop  had  little  hope,  and  could  name  no  efficient, 
influential,  devout  Union  men  in  Maryland  for  the  three 
trustees  needed.    Went  to  the  Harrisons'.     W.  G.  H.  had 


290  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.  [Chap.  XL 

gone  out.  Talked  over  all  the  subject  with  Hall  Harrison 
and  Kobert  Oliver,  and  then  with  Miss  M.  S.  H.  Met  Mr. 
W.  G.  H.  at  4.30  p.  m.,  and  talked  fully,  and  then  Mi\  F.  W. 
Brune  came,  and  we  had  a  very  cordial  conference  ;  zeal,  but 
not  very  much  hope. 

July  23. — Left  Baltimore  1.10  for  i^ew  York.  Many  pon- 
derings  on  the  way.  Saw  clearly  that  little  hope  could  be 
had  of  raising  the  funds  needed  for  the  College,  especially  if 
it  had  to  be  moved  to  some  safer  place  nearer  Baltimore. 
Beached  New  York  11  p.  m. 

July  24. — Sunday.  Preached  at  Calvary  Church  for  Dr. 
Coxe.  In  afternoon  preached  on  "Naaman,"  at  St.  Luke's 
Hospital.  Dear  Dr.  M.  not  at  home.  Evening,  at  9  o'clock, 
full  talk  with  Dr.  Coxe.  He  m-ged  my  not  going  on  with  St. 
James's,  but  my  taking  Trinity  College,  if  elected. 

July  25. — To  Boston.  At  Dr.  Shattuck's :  talk  about  St. 
James's  and  Trinity  College. 

July  26 Anxious,  owing  to  startling  rumors  of  new 

raid  near  our  home. 

July  27. — Went  with  Abel  to  see  Dr.  Brown-Sequard.  The 
doctor  very  hopeful,  thank  God  ! 

To  New  York  at  5  p.  m.  Rumors  growing  of  raid  near 
home. 

July  28. — Thursday.  New  York.  Irving  House.  Telegram 
from  wife:  "No  rebels  this  side  Potomac,  and  no  need  to 
come."  Spent  evening  with  Dr.  M.  at  St.  Luke's.  He  urged 
me  to  accept  Trinity  College,  if  chosen.  At  U  p.  m.  Mr.  J. 
Elected  Presi-  H.  Swift  told  me  of  my  election  as  President  of  Trinity 
"'"''''"^'■*"*'^- College.  Letters  to  wile,  etc.,  Mr.  W.  G.  H.,  Bishop  VV., 
Mr.  Coit. 

July  29,  Friday. — Received  Bishop  Williams's  letter,  telling 
me  of  my  election,  and  asking  me  to  meet  him  next  day  on 

railroad  towards  Hartford Took  my  state-room  for 

New  Haven ;  then  saw  bulletins  of  entrance  of  Confederates 
into  Hagerstown.  Anxious  ;  doubtful  about  my  coui-se  .... 
decided  to  push  on  to  Hartford.  Anxious  for  my  dear  wife 
and  daughters,  but  clear  that  I  must  push  on, 

July  30,  Saturday, — At  New  Haven  early.     Walked  about 


1864.]  LAST  TEAR  OF  ST.  JAMES'S.  291 

Yale  College.  At  Berlin  met  Bishop  Williams,  who  warmly 
welcomed  me  ;  gave  me  formal  call  to  the  Presidency  of 
Trinity  College.  At  Hartford  with  Bishop  Williams,  Rev. 
Mr.  Mallory  and  Professor  Brocklesby  ;  visited  College  build- 
ings and  site.  Very  pleasant.  Warm  welcome  from  Bishop 
Brownell  and  all.  Much  pleased  with  Hartford  and  the  Col- 
lege  My  first  day  at  my  probable  future  home. 

July  31. — Tenth  Sunday  after  Trinit}^  8.30  a.  m.  Assisted 
at  Holy  Communion  at  St.  John's  Church  (Rev.  Mr.  Doane) ; 
10.45,  preached  at  St.  John's  ;  3.15,  preached  at  Christ  Chui'ch 
(Rev.  Dr.  Clark).  Most  cordial  reception  by  every  one  ; 
much  with  Mr.  Mallory,  whom  I  liked  very  much.  Just 
before  10.45  service  read  bulletin  of  burning  of  Chambers- £i,„(i/(fir  6/ 
burg,  but  did  not  beheve  it.  Visited  Bishop  Brownell  at  <-''<('"^<^'->(>"rg. 
five  o'clock.  Got  very  pleasant  impressions  of  Hartford,  its 
people  and  my  work  there,  should  I  come,  as  I  frankly  said 
I  hoped  to  do.     Left  for  Xew  York,  11  o'clock. 

August  1,  Monday. — In  New  York  by  4.30.  Left  for  New- 
burg  to  see  Abel,  etc.;  there  till  9  p.  m.,  when  Abel  and  I 
came  down  by  barge  to  New  York,  hoping  to  get  home  by 
some  route. 

August  3,  Wednesday. — Left  Harrisburg  at  8,  leaving 
oui-  watches  with  Dr.  Roberts,  fearing  Confederate  raids,  and 
oui-  trunks  with  Adams'  Express  for  same  reason.  Were 
kept  at  Chambersburg  from  11.30  till  4.30.  No  cars  would 
go  nearer  Hagerstown  before.  Saw  all  the  fearful  desolation 
of  the  tire.  Sad,  heartrending  sight !  Saw,  too,  the  poverty 
that  needed  and  the  abounding  charity  that  supplied  the 
wants  of  food  among  the  hundreds  thus  impoverished. 

Reached  Hagerstown  at  6.30.  Found  wife  and  children 
well  at  Mi"s.  Kennedy's. 

August  4. — Thursday.  National  fast-day.  Rode  out  with 
family  at  10  a.  m.  Busy  reading  and  answering  letters,  etc. 
Fast-day  services  over  at  the  chapel,  but  we  had  them  among 
ourselves  at  family  prayers.  Conferences  with  Mr.  Coit  (Dr. 
Falk  and  Mr.  Coster  in  Hagerstown)  about  our  new  proceed- 
ings. At  evening  alarms  of  Confederates  coming.  Made 
arrangements  for  horses  going,  but  these  failed. 


292 


LIFE  OF  BISHOP  EERFOOT. 


[Chap.  XI. 


August  5. — I'iiday.  Early  word,  "  JSo  rebels  coming,"  and 
Mr.  Coster  set  out  for  Boonsboro  and  Baltimore.  Then  surer 
word,  "They  are  coming."  Tardy  arrangements  for  the 
horses  to  go — Dr.  F.  his  two,  Mr.  C.  his,  and  mine.  Just 
then  four  or  five  Confederates  ride  in.  Dr.  P.  drives  ofl',  and 
Mr.  C.  and  1  walk  up  with  ours  to  give  them  up,  when  one 
asks  for  me.  It  turns  out  to  be  Major  B.,  of  North  Carolina, 
a  pupil  here  ten  years  ago.  He  and  his  squad  were  here  one 
hour ;  very  polite  and  cordial ;  did  not  take  the  horses,  but 
advised  us  to  send  them  away.'  At  11  o'clock  came  Major 
Peyton,  Gen.  Khodes's  adjutant,  asking  permission  to  put  his 
headquarters  at  oui-  s|iring.  Afterwards  Gen.  Ramseur  took 
Gen.  lihodes's  place.  All  very  polite ;  good  guards  at  once 
set.  We  put  Mr.  Colt's  horse  and  mine  in  our  cellar,  and 
told  Gen.  Ramseur ;  he  said  they  would  be  safe.  Captains 
Phillips  and  Moore  (former  pupils),  Gen.  Ramseur  and  others, 

dined  at  tlie  College  table.     One  .ugly  fellow,  a  Major  S , 

pitched  his  tent  just  in  front  of  our  parlor  windows.  My  wife 
heard  him  m-ging  the  burning  of  the  College,  and  he  was  very 
coarse  and  offensive  in  talk  and  actions.  Gen.  Ramseur 
(Va.)  and  several  officers  took  tea  at  the  rectory.  At  tea 
Gen.  Ramseur  was  called  out  by  an  order  from  Gen.  Early, 
through  Major  Peyton.  He  called  me  out  to  my  parlor,  and 
there  Major  Peyton  very  gently  told  me  that  Gen.  Early 
An-estof  Dr  o^^'dered  me  and  Mr.  Coit  under  close  arrest,  to  leave  early  to- 
Kerfoot  and  M?:  morrow  morning  for  Bichmond,  as  hostages  for  the  Rev.  l)r. 
Boyd,  of  Winchester,  Va.,  now  in  the  Wheeling  military 
prison  !  Awful  word  this,  to  me  for  my  own  sake,  and  dear 
Mr.  Colt's,  and  far  more  so  to  me  (and  to  him,  too)  for  my 
family's  sake — my  sick  wife  and  son.  Sad,  busy  night,  full  of 
sorrow,  care,  thought  for  the  futui-e,  preparations,  business. 


'  [The  polite  major,  giving  an 
amusing  account  of  this  scene 
afterwards  to  some  of  the  ladies, 
said  he  saw  that  old  gentlemen 
(Dr.  Falli)  driving  his  horses  off, 
and  was  about  to  stop  him,  when 


just  then  the  Rector  came  in 
sight.  "The  old  feeling  of  awe 
and  respect  came  over  me,  and, 
to  tell  the  honest  truth,  I  believe 
I  was  half  afraid  to  take  those 
horses,"  etc.] 


1864.] 


LAST  YEAR  OF  ST.  JAMES'S. 


293 


etc.  Mr.  C.  and  I  under  close  guard  in  my  parlor,  or,  if  we 
went  out,  a  guard  with  us.  My  noble  wife  sat  up  all  night, 
calm,  quiet,  loving  and  efficient.  Sent  for  Mr.  Breathed, 
who  engaged  to  go  early  in  the  mornins  to  Gen.  Ehodes,  and 
with  him  to  Gen.  Early,  to  urge,  for  my  wife  and  son's  sake, 
that  our  parole  be  taken  to  secure  Dr.  Boyd's  release,  or,  if 
unsuccessful,  surrender  ourselves;  and  that  we  be  temporarily 
released.  Officers  and  guards  all  tender  and  kind,  and  much 
sympathy  shown  by  them.  Family  prayers  in  my  "prison" 
about  10  p.  m.;  the  27th  Psalm  (Domiims  illuminatio  mea), 
tirst  of  evening  Psalter  for  Day  5th,  read.  Oh  how  true  for 
us  all !  Lay  down  and  dozed  or  slept  a  little  on  the  floor. 
Up  and  down  all  night  on  this  and  that  provision  for  family 
and  self.  Sad,  sad  night  of  fear  and  pain ;  but  not  deserted 
(any  of  us)  by  God:  He  was  near.  Mr.  Coit  very  sympa- 
thizing and  unselfish Night  wore  away 

Saturday,  Aug.  6,  came  after  the  long,  weary  night.  A. 
read  me  the  Psalter  for  the  morning.  Psalm  30  ("  Heavi- 
ness may  endure  for  a  night,  but  joy  cometh  in  the  morn- 
ing," etc.)  sounded  so  hopeful;  but  I  dared  only  take  it 
as  true  to  my  soul ;  perhaps  not — most  probably  not.  just 

now— to    my   body,  and   family,  and   to   Mr.    Coit 

Had  breakfast ;  C.  and  I  tried  to  eat,  but  little  appetite. 
The  two  guards  (with  their  guns)  sat  down  with  us.  At 
breakfast,  about  8  o'clock,  Mr.  Breathed  came  with  General 
Early  to  the  rectory.  General  Early  detailed  the  history  of 
Dr.  Boyd's  arrests,'  and  gently,  firml)',  showed  the  necessity 
of  this  act  for  his  release.     I  offered  my  parole  to  secure  his  Released  on 

^    /.  parole. 

release  or  give  myself  up;  Mr.  C.  fully  joined  in.  General 
Early  said  he  would  take  our  parole  to  secure  Dr.  B.'s  return 
to  his  home,  or  we  to  go  to  Richmond.     Great,  merciful  relief! 


'  [The  Rev.  Dr.  Hunter  Boyd 
had  been  arrested,  released,  re- 
arrested, etc.  The  treatment  of 
this  excellent  o;entleman  had 
deeply  aronsed  the  resentment 
of  the  Confederate  authorities. 
His  was  one  of   many  cases  of 


hardship  in  that  part  of  Virginia 
which  was  repeatedly  occupied 
by  the  two  armies  in  turn.  Some 
of  the  chief  facts  in  relation  to  his 
case  will  be  mentioned  hereafter, 
in  connection  with  Dr.  Kerfoot's 
visit  to  Washington.] 


294 


LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT. 


[Chap.  XI. 


Till  then  I  had  (all  night)  kept  up.  Then,  for  a  moment, 
tears  of  joy  would  come  for  my  wife  and  children.  I  left  for 
a  moment  to  tell  them,  and  came  back.  General  Early  then 
clearly  detailed  the  excessive  and  needless  molestation  of 
persons  and  destruction  of  private  property  by  General 
Tlunter  and  others ;  urged  his  unwillingness  to  do  any  such 
things,  but  the  absolute  necessity  of  them  as  protection  by 
means  of  retaliation.  His  purpose  clearly  was  to  make 
through  us,  to  our  government  and  the  public,  a  full  and 
strong  protest  on  these  matters.  His  long  statement  (three- 
quarters  of  an  hour  or  more)  was  very  clear,  calm  and 
earnest,  and  very  courteous.'  He  gave  me  a  written  protec- 
tion for  all  our  property  here,  personal  and  collegiate  (I  told 
him  of  our  horses).  He  needed  no  breakfast  (had  eaten), 
but  his  aids  took  breakfast.  He  parted  with  us  very  cour- 
teously, andVe  with  him.^     A  happy  household  now.     The 


1  [The  writer  remembers  hear- 
ing from  one  who  was  present 
that  General  Early's  whole  de- 
meanor was  most  dignified  and 
courteous.  His  conversation — 
all  about  the  burning  of  Charm- 
bersburg  (so  he  pronounced  it), 
etc. — was  deeply  interesting,  and 
he  displayed  remarkable  power 
in  grouping  his  facts  and  present- 
ing his  case  in  the  strongest  and 
clearest  light.] 

5  [The  following  is  an  exact 
copy  of  the  parole  demanded  and 
the  pass  given  by  General  Early  : 

Hd.-Qu.  C.  S.  Forces  in  Maryland, 
6th  August,  1864. 
The  Rev.  Jno.  B.  Kerfoot,  D.D., 
of  the  College  of  St.  James,  and 
the  Rev.  Joseph  H.  Coit,  of  the 
same  institution,  located  in  the 
County  of  Washington,  Mary- 
land, having  been  arrested  by  my 
order,  to  be  held  as  hostages  for 


the  Rev.  Hunter  Boyd,  D.  D.,  of 
Winchester,  Virginia,  now  held 
as  a  prisoner  at  Wheeling  by  the 
United  States  authorities,  are,  at 
their  instance,  released  from  close 
arrest  and  permitted  to  go  at 
large,  upon  their  promise  on 
honor  not  directly  or  indirectly 
to  disclose  anything  in  regard  to 
the  movements  or  strength  of 
the  Confederate  troops  under  my 
command,  or  any  facts  in  rela- 
tion thereto  which  may  be  preju- 
dicial to  the  Confederate  States, 
and  upon  their  further  promise 
that  iinless  the  said  Rev.  Hunter 
Boyd,  D.  D.,  is  released  from 
arrest  and  permitted  to  return  to 
bis  home  in  Winchester,  Virginia, 
untrammelled  by  any  obligations 
to  the  Federal  authorities,  within 
three  weeks  from  this  date,  they 
will,  as  soon  as  practicable,  sur- 
render themselves  into  the  cus- 


1864.]  LAST  YEAR  OF  ST.  JAMES'S.  295 

guards  (Lieutenant  Larkins  in  charge — a  very  kind  man)  and 
officers  came  forward  with  warm  congratulations.  Then  we 
too  could  eat,  and  be  very  thankful.  The  30th  Psalm  icas 
true  !  The  whole  place  very  busy  for  two  hours  ;  then  regi- 
ments came  through ;  then  provost  guards  left.  Some 
stragglers  seen.  Two  pretended  provost  guards  appeared 
"to  prevent  stealing."  Soon  two  more  joined  them,  and 
then  they  came  to  the  house,  "  and  now  would  take  those 
horses  out  of  the  cellar."  The)'  laughed  at  General  Early's 
safeguard.  "  Old  Jube  [General  Jubal  Early]  did  not  mean 
half  his  orders."  So,  before  our  ej'es,  they  took  LIr.  C.'s 
beautiful  horse  and  our  dear  "  Little  Mac."'  No  help  for  this  : 
officers  all  gone.  Well,  we  were  here,  if  horses  gone.  K. 
cried  for  Little  Mac,  and  we  all  felt  as  if  we  could  have  done 
so! 

A  glad,  but  weary,  day.  I  feel  much  run  down.  Evening. 
Howard  K.  and  B.  Campbell  (two  students)  came  out  from 
Hagerstown  to  try  to  save  our  Tiorses.  Reports  of  our  arrest 
and  parole  had  gone  to  town  by  Confederate  soldiers.  Sad 
word  they  bring  of  the  arrest  of  Rev.  Mr.  Edwards  and 
others  as  hostages,  etc.    Several  Secessionists  had  gone  after 

them  to  Williamsport  to  secure  their  release Poor 

Mrs.  E.  followed  her  husband  on  foot  to  Williamsport.  Very 
anxious  for  poor  Edwards  ;  God  help  and  release  him ! 

[They  were  speedil}'  released  ;  see  below.] 

Wrote  up  my  journal  from  July  21  to  30,  then  went  thank- 
tody  of  the  Commissioner  of  Ex-  same  facts,  and  continued  :  "  We 
change  at  Richmond;  and,  to  I  bind  ourselves  in  honor  to  report 
procure  said  release,  the  said  to  the  Commissioner  of  Ex- 
gentlemen,  or  either  of  them,  change,  etc.,  as  soon  as  it  maybe 
shall  be  permitted  to  pass  any  practicable  to  do  so,  unless  the 
pickets  or  guards  of  the  Con-  said  Dr.  Boyd  is  unconditionally 
federate  States  Army  that  it  may  released  ....  within  three 
be  necessary  to  pass  on  the  way  weeks,"  etc. 
to  Washington  City.  The  official  copy  of  this  parole 


J.  A.  Early, 

Lt.-GeTieral. 
The  parole  signed  by  Dr.  Ker- 
foot  and  Mr.  Coit,  recited   the 


found     among     Dr.      Kerfoot's 
papers  is  signed, 

A.  G.  Pendleton, 
Lt.-Col.  and  A.  A.-O.,  C.  S.  A.] 


296  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.  [Chap.  XI. 

fully  to  my  own  bed,  among  ray  own  dear  ones,  from  whom 
the  night  before  I  expected  a  long,  anxious  severance  ;  they 
sick  and  anxious,  and  I  very  anxious,  weary,  suffering,  and 
likely  to  be  sick  myself;  but  now  all  is  hopeful,  for  I  trust  I 
shall  succeed  in  getting  Dr.  Boyd's  release.  On  Sunday 
afternoon  wrote  up  the  rest  of  this  journal  to  this  point,  for 
we  all  leave  on  Tuesday.  None  of  us  safe  here ;  I  am  not. 
Hence  we  work  hard  this  Sunday,  of  necessity. 
Last  Sunday.  August  7. — 11th  Sunday  after  Trinity.  Anniversary  of  my 
father's  death,  August  7,  1825,  thirty-nine  years  ago. 
God's  mercy  to  us  all,  how  clear  and  full !  At  10.30  full 
service  and  Holy  Communion  in  chapel.  Our  last  Com- 
munion here.  Nine  communicants  in  all.  [Here  follow  the 
names.] 

6  p.  m. — I  baptized  a  child.  Thus,  on  this  last  Sunday,  loth 
sacraments.  Fai'ewell,  dear  chapel  and  its  services !  We  all 
took  farewell  walk  at  7.30  p.  m.  to  the  cemetery,  to  the 
graves  of  W.  J.  K.  and  H. — dear  little  ones !  Busy  all  day 
working  to  prepare  to  set  out  on  Tuesday  for  Baltimore  and 
the  North. 

On  the  next  day,  August  8,  he  records  that  in  the 
evening  his  dear  friends  in  Hagerstown,  "Mrs.  Ken- 
nedy, Mrs.  Campbell,  and  Mrs.  Griswold,  Mrs.  L. 
Dorsey  and  Mrs.  J.  D.,  Rev.  Mr.  Edwards  and  Mrs. 
E.,"  and  some  of  the  "old  boys,"  came  out  to  say  a 
sorrowful  good-bye.  "  Busy  all  day,  writing  up  letters, 
preparing  for  moving,  packing,"  etc. 

The  above  is  the  last  entry  in  the  St.  James's  diary. 
On  Tuesday,  the  9th  of  August,  1864,  Dr.  Kerfoot 
and  his  family  (his  wife,  son  and  two  daughters),  sad 
and  silent,  with  scarcely  repressed  tears,  bade  good- 
bye, never  to  return,  to  the  beautiful  spot  which  had 
been  their  happy  home  for  twenty-two  years.  Those 
years  had  been   full   of  useful   toil ;  they  had  been 


1864.]  LAST  YEAR  OF  ST.  JAMES'S.  297 

sanctified  by  sorrow  and  cheered  by  many  dear  friend- 
ships, which,  after  all,  are  the  sweeteners  of  human 
life ;  and  although  the  end,  when  at  last  it  came,  was 
sudden,  disappointing  and  even  tragic  in  its  circum- 
stances, the  retrospect  was,  then  and  always,  full  of 
the  consolation  that  comes  from  the  recollections  of  a 
life  of  unselfish  and  unceasing  devotion  to  the  good 
of  others. 

"  I  therefore  go,  and  join  head,  heart  and  hand, 
Active  and  lirm,  to  fight  the  bloodless  fight 
Of  Science,  Freedom  and  the  Truth  in  Christ. 
Yet  oft,  when  after  honorable  toil 
Eests  the  tired  mind,  and,  waking,  loves  to  dream, 
My  spirit  shall  revisit  thee,  dear  home  ! 


And  I  shall  sigh  fond  wishes — sweet  abode ! 

Ah — had  none  greater !    And  that  all  had  such  !"i 


The  next  few  days  were  not  only  very  anxious, 
but  extremely  busy  ones  for  Dr.  Kerfoot  and  his 
fellow  prisoner,  Mr.  Coit.  The  main  facts  of  T>y.  ThecaseqfDr. 
Boyd's  hard  treatment  were  known  from  Gen.  Early,  ^  ' 
but  it  was  all-important  to  obtain  such  proof  as  might 
be  satisfactory  to  the  "War  Department  in  Washing- 
ton. After  much  correspondence  with  Maj.-Gen. 
Sigel,  Gen.  "W.  P.  Maulsby,  and  other  oflBcers  who 
had  been  concerned  with  Dr.  Boyd's  case,  the  follow- 
ing facts  were  elicited. 

During  the  winter  of  1863-64  three  gentlemen  of 
Virginia,  Mr.  Conrad,  Mr.  Dandridge,  and  Rev.  Dr. 
Boyd,  were  arrested  by  the  Federal  authorities  as 
hostages  for  certain  members  of  the  West  Virginia 
Legislature  who  had  been  arrested  by  the  Confeder- 

'  From  Coleridge's  "Lines  on  Leaving  a  Dear  Old  Home." 


298  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.        [Chap.  XI. 

ates.  An  exchange  was  effected,  but  Dr.  Boyd, 
instead  of  being  released  as  agreed  upon,  was  retained 
in  custody  as  hostage  for  one  Dooley,  who  bad  been 
captured  by  the  Confederates  and  taken  to  Rich- 
mond. 

So  great  was  the  interest  felt  in  Dr.  Boyd's  case 
(for  he  was  one  of  the  most  estimable  and  respected 
gentlemen  in  the  community),  that  Mr.  Edmund  Pen- 
dleton, a  prominent  citizen  of  Martinsburg,  well 
known,  too,  as  a  "  Union  man,"  endeavored  to  secure 
his  release.  Mr.  Pendleton  submitted  evidence,  which 
he  had  obtained  from  Richmond,  that  Dooley  had 
been  taken  with  papers  on  his  person  which  proved 
him  to  be  in  the  military  service  of  the  United  States, 
and  that  he  was  properly  retained  in  custody,  not  as  a 
political  prisoner,  but  as  a  prisoner  of  war  strictly 
so  called.  Moreover,  proof  was  furnished  that  Dooley, 
whoever  and  whatever  he  was,  had  died  in  prison  in 
Richmond.  The  retention  of  Dr.  Boyd  as  a  political 
prisoner,  for  Dooley,  was  acknowledged  by  the  United 
States  Judge  Advocate  (to  whom  the  matter  had 
been  referred  by  Mr.  Pendleton's  exertions)  to  be, 
under  the  circumstances,  unjust  and  unauthorized. 
Besides,  it  was  hard  to  keep  poor  Dr.  Boyd  languish- 
ing in  prison  in  Wheeling  until  the  Confederates 
exchanged  a  man  who  had  been  some  months  dead ! 
One  difiiculty  was — too  much  "  red  tape  ";  the  Judge 
Advocate's  papers  had  been  returned  to  h'im  "  because 
of  some  informality  in  the  endorsement,  and  were  then 
at  headquarters  in  Cumberland,  with  which  at  pres- 
ent there  was  no  communication."  Besides  this,  no 
one  cared  enough  about  the  matter  to  see  that  justice 


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"jrs^-v-v-.^      TT1-v.,<_    ./-w-w-w^  «--v-u.*_^       t-|     oc_    »M>4.>-C--L-    ijj  t-v^a-i 


.^ 


(JOc^Ut 


V.A'i-^-^j 


l--W»-^        t 


2^1<;J^ 


1864.]  LAST  YEAR  OF  ST.  JAMES'S.  299 

was  done,  until  the  retaliatory  measures  of  Gen.  Early- 
forced  attention  to  the  case. 

Having  found  out  all  that  could  be  known,  the 
next  thing  was  to  secure  the  influence  of  prominent 
Union  men  in  the  North  to  whom  it  was  supposed 
that  President  Lincoln  and  Secretary  Stanton  would 
not  turn  a  deaf  ear.  The  friends  of  Dr.  Kerfoot  and 
Mr.  Coit  were  very  active  and  did  all  they  could. 
Dr.  Shattuck  and  various  prominent  gentlemen  in 
Boston  and  Hartford,  Mr.  William  Welsh  in  Phila- 
delphia, Bishop  Whittingham  in  Baltimore,  and  many 
others,  wrote  letters  and  signed  papers  stating  the 
claims  of  Dr.  Kerfoot  to  the  considerate  attention  of 
the  Government,  and  begged  that  justice  might  be 
done  to  Dr.  Boyd,  so  as  to  secure  Dr.  Kerfoot's 
release. 

Armed  with  these  documents,  and  able  to  state 
their  case  with  force  and  clearness,  Dr.  Kerfoot  and 
Mr.  Coit  repaired  to  Washington  and  took  up  their 
quarters  at  Willard's  Hotel.  Any  one  who  knows 
what  the  heat  of  Washington  is  under  an  August  sun, 
may  imagine  the  vexation  and  anxiety  of  these  gentle- 
men as  they  hurried  from  one  official  to  another, 
trying  to  secure  the  purpose  of  their  journey,  upon 
which  their  fate  depended.  It  was  no  easy  matter. 
President  Lincoln  and  Secretary  Stanton  had  the 
great  cares  of  war  and  the  State  to  look  after.  "Red 
tape "  was  again  in  the  way.  "  Who  had  arrested 
Dr.  Boyd  ?"  "  What  proof  was  there  of  all  these 
statements  ?"  "  The  proper  person  to  see  was  Gen.  A." 
Gen.  A.,  on  being  found,  said  it  was  not  his  affair:  it 
belonged  to  Col.  B.;  etc.,  etc.     For  some  time  it  really 


300  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.  [Chap.  XI. 

looked  as  if  nothing  was  going  to  be  done,  and  that 
when  the  three  weeks  were  gone,  Dr.  Kerfoot  would 
have  to  take  up  his  abode  in  Castle  Thunder  or  the 
Libby  Prison  in  Richmond — almost  equal,  in  his  then 
state  of  health,  to  a  sentence  of  death. 

At  length,  to  make  short  a  long  story,  after  much 
running  about  from  pillar  to  post  and  from  post  to 
pillar,  the  War  Department  settled  the  matter  and 
set  Dr.  Kerfoot  and  Mr,  Coit  free,  by  issuing  a  peremp- 
tory order  that  Dr.  Boyd  should  be  at  once  uncondition- 
ally released  and  permitted  to  return  to  his  home  in 
Winchester.  As  soon  as  the  telegram  announced  that 
this  order  had  been  complied  with,  Dr.  Kerfoot  and  his 
friend,  intensely  relieved,  left  Washington  and  returned 
to  their  anxious  families.  After  a  short  visit  to  his  old 
friends  in  Maryland,  where  he  was  taken  ill,  owing  to 
the  fatigue  and  anxiety  he  had  undergone.  Dr.  Ker- 
foot finally  decided  that  St.  James's  must  be  given 
Acc^ts  Trinity  yy-^^  and  accepted  the  Presidency  of  Trinity  College, 
Hartford. 

The  two  following  letters  from  Dr.  Muhlenberg 
may  be  added  to  this  chapter  as  reminiscences  of  this 
critical  and  anxious  time  : 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Muhlenberg  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  'Kerfoot. 

St.  Luke's  Hospital.  N.  Y.,  Auir.  11.  1864. 
My  Dear,  Dear  John.— IVs  too  bad !  Of  course  I'll  do  all  I 
can.  Mr.  Swift  has  written  to  Gen.  Dix,  who  is  not  far  from 
the  city.  He  will  also  see  Mr.  Cisco,  late  assistant  treasurer. 
John  Jay  is  a  foremost  man  in  the  Union  League.  He,  of 
course,  will  exert  himself  as  soon  as  I  get  him  word.  But 
Bishop  Whittingham  is  your  man.  Surely  he  has  only  to  get 
an  interview  with  the  President.    As  to  my  presence,  it  would 


1864.]         ■     LAST  TEAR  OF  ST.  JAMES'S.  301 

be  vvorLli  uuLhiug.  I'll  write  to  Mr.  Seward  uuder  cover  of  a 
letter  from  some  one  of  influence  with  him.  I  am  going  to 
see  Raymond,  editor  of  the  Times.  I  can't  doubt  the  exchange 
will  be  eflected.  Any  letters  to  the  President  had  better  be 
sent  to  yom-self,  to  be  got  to  him. 

Let  me  know  whether  you  will  remain  in  Baltimore.  We 
had  been  fearing  for  you  ever  since  we  found  the  rebels  were 
about  you  again,  but  didn't  expect  to  hear  you  were  so  com- 
pletely in  their  hands. 

I  hope  your  wife  and  children  will  get  safe  here.  As  "  the 
prisoner  of  the  Lord  "  (for  you  w^ere  taken  in  the  discharge 
of  your  duty),  trust  Him  for  your  release,  which  I  confidently 
expect  to  hear  long  before  the  27th. 

Of  course  you  have  written  to  Dr.  Shattuck ;  he'll  move 
heaven  and  earth  for  you.  You  see  how  hurriedly  I  write 
that  you  may  hear  from  me  in  time. 

Yours  aflectionately,  W.  A.  M. 

From  the  Same, 
St.  Luke's  Hospital,  N.  Y.,  Aug.  12,  1864. 

My  Dear  John., — Dr.  Dyer,  of  the  Evangelical  Knowledge 
Society,  is  intimate  with  Stanton,  the  Secretary  of  War,  who 
can  himself,  the  doctor  says,  grant  what  you  want.  Accord- 
ingly I  have  addressed  a  letter  to  him,  which  Dr.  D.  will 
cordially  endorse,  and  which  he  thinks  will  be  all-sufficient, 
unless  there  be  something  grossly  obnoxious  in  Dr.  Boyd. 

But  I  can't  imagine  there  will  be  any  difficulty,  with  all  the 
interest  you  can  bring  to  bear  among  your  friends  immediately 
around  you.     Honest  old  Abe  could  not  withstand  Bishop  Honest  old  Abe. 
Whittingham  at  the  head  of  a  procession  of  clergy  and  laity — 
especially  if  he  happened  to  remember  a  pertinent  anecdote. 

I  shall  be  looking  every  day  for  a  letter  from  you,  telling 

me  it's  all  right  and  thanking  me  for  my  superfluous  labor. 

Well — you  will  see  how  many  friends  you  have.     Yours 

aflectionately, 

W.  A.  Muhlenberg. 

I  wrote  you  yesterday. 


APPENDIX  TO  CHAPTER  XL 

[The  following  account  of  Dr.  Kerfoot's  arrest,  of  his  journey  to 
Washington,  and  of  the  various  diflBculties  he  encountered  in  securing 
his  own  and  Dr.  Boyd's  release,  is  from  the  pen  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Coit, 
Dr.  Kerfoot's  fellow-prisoner.  It  was  not  written  for  publication,  but 
was  kindly  sent  to  me  for  my  information.  Being  received  too  late 
to  be  incorporated  in  the  preceding  chapter,  I  have  thought  it  best  to 
add  it  as  an  appendix,  since  its  story  is  much  fuller  than  Dr.  Kerfoot's 
brief  and  hurried  diary,  and  gives  a  graphic  picture  of  this  episode  in 
his  life  which  is  far  too  interesting  to  be  lost. — H.  H.] 

Dr.  Kerfoot  was  arrested  Friday  evening,  August  5th, 
between  7  and  8  o'clocl?.  I  bad  taken  my  supper  in  tbe 
College  refectory,  and  tben  bad  walked  out  around  tbe  build- 
ings. I  noticed  groups  of  Confederate  soldiers  and  ofHcers 
gatliered  at  several  places ;  they  were  ill-clad,  and  looked  tired 
and  cross.  All  that  day  I  had  had  a  lurking  fear  of  evil,  and 
Dr.  K.,  as  I  knew,  was  more  discomposed  by  this  last  appear- 
ance of  the  Southern  army  than  by  any  preceding  visitation. 
We  began  to  be  in  despair  of  ever  being  left  in  peace  and 
quiet.  The  manner  of  these  new  raiders  was  less  courteous 
and  forbearing  than  bad  been  that  of  their  predecessors.  I 
returned  to  my  study  very  disconsolate,  and  was  about  to 
light  my  lamp,  intending  to  sit  down  and  write,  when  there 
was  a  tap  at  the  door.  I  opened  it,  and  there  stood  a  messenger 
(I  cannot  now  recall  whether  a  soldier  or  a  servant,  or  Abel 
K.),  who  simply  said,  "  General  Ramseur  wishes  to  see  you  in 
Dr.  Kerfoot's  parlor."  I  did  not  know  what  was  coming, 
but  I  was  sure  that  some  misfortune  had  happened  or  was 
about  to  happen. 

When  I  entered  the  parlor,  Dr.  Kerfoot  was  standing, 
with  a  most  agonized  look,  talking  quietly  with  an  officer. 
Gen.  Ramseur,  who  was  also  standing  with  them,  turned 
to  me  and  first  introduced  me  to  Col.  Peyton,  aid  of  Gen. 


1864.]  APPENDIX  TO  CHAPTER  XL  303 

Early,  and  then,  without  further  ceremony,  said  at  once, 
"Mr.  Coit,  it  is  my  painful  duty,  in  obedience  to  Gen. 
Early's  orders,  to  put  Dr.  Kerfoot  and  yourself  under  close  Under  dose 

o  5  1      TT     1       -i.^.    1  4-  .arrest  as  jjriion- 

arrest  as  prisoners  of  war."  He  hesitated  a  moment,  and  «rso/?<w. 
then,  turning  to  Dr.  K.,  added,  "  I  assure  you  that  I  do  this 
with  the  greatest  regret."  For  a  moment  I  scarcely  realized 
the  full  meaning  of  the  announcement.  Neither  Dr.  Kerfoot 
nor  myself  understood  what  was  to  be  done  with  us,  or  why 
we  were  to  be  held  as  close  prisoners  of  war.  "  General," 
I  asked,  "  will  you  kindly  inform  me  why  we  are  arrested, 
and  what  disposition  is  to  be  made  of  us?"  His  answer  was 
that  we  were  arrested  as  hostages  for  the  Rev.  Dr.  Boyd, 
of  Winchester,  Vhginia,  who  had  been  seized  in  the  most 
cruel  and  unjustifiable  manner  by  the  United  States  military 
authorities,  and  taken  to  Wheeling,  Virginia,  and  cast  into 
the  common  jail  along  with  criminals  of  all  sorts,  both  black 
and  white.  The  Confederate  Government  had  in  vain 
remonstrated  and  called  attention  to  the  case,  and  at  last,  as 
the  only  remedy,  had  resolved  to  resort  to  reprisals.  There 
were  no  complaints  against  us  personally,  and  no  charges  of 
acts  done  by  us  in  violation  of  the  laws  of  war.  We  were, 
unfortunately,  clergymen  of  sufficient  position  and  impor- 
tance belonging  to  the  Northern  side  to  be  thought  suitable 
persons  to  hold  as  hostages  for  Dr.  Boyd.  As  to  our  dispo- 
sition, he  was  directed  to  place  us  in  close  arrest  at  once. 
We  should  probably  be  carried  to  Richmond  and  kept  in  the 
Libby  Prison  until  Dr.  Boyd's  release,  or  until  the  end  of  the 
war.  "  Why,  General,  are  two  arrested  as  hostages  for 
one  person  ?"  I  asked.  "  Dr.  Kerfoot  has  a  wife  and  children, 
and  a  son  in  delicate  health.  To  be  taken  from  his  home 
now  will  be  a  most  sore  affliction."  The  General  answered 
rather  stiffly,  "  I  know  it,  I  know  it;  but  I  have  no  option  in 
the  matter  :  my  duty  is  to  carry  out  Gen.  Early's  orders." 
Dr.Kerfoot  stood  by  silent,  but  almost  convulsed  with  agony. 
When  I  spoke  of  his  wife  and  children,  and  referred  to  Abel, 
1  heard  him  say,  "What  will  they  do  without  me?"  At 
this  moment  Mrs.  Kerfoot  came  in,  and  Dr.  Kerfoot  told  her 
calmly  and  gently,  although  with  evidently  suppressed  emo- 


304  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.         [Chap.  XI. 

tion,  what  had  befallen  us.  She  bore  the  tidings  wonder- 
fully, gave  way  to  no  sobs  or  bursts  of  feeling,  and  yet  one 
could  see  in  every  line  of  her  face  the  effort  which  it  cost  to 
control  her  grief  and  horror.  General  Ramseur  and  Colonel 
Peyton  withdrew,  saying  that  the  guard  would  receive  instruc- 
tions to  be  as  kind  and  helpful  as  was  possible ;  but  the}'  were 
also  ordered  not  to  let  us  be  out  of  sight  for  a  single  moment. 
At  the  same  time  we  heard  a  file  of  soldiers  entering  the  hall, 
and  as  the  officers  went  out  we  saw  six  or  eight  men  drawn  up 
in  line,  awaiting  orders.  As  soon  as  Gen.  R.  had  left  us.  Dr. 
Kerfoot  clasped  his  wife  in  his  arms,  and  I  turned  away,  for- 
getting for  the  moment  my  own  wretchedness  in  their  far 
greater  misery.  They  talked  very  low  and  quietly  with  each 
other,  and  I  only  heard  once  or  twice  Dr.  K.  say:  "The 
Lord's  will  be  done,"  and  "I  leave  you  in  God's  hands." 
In  a  short  time  the  corporal  of  the  guard  threw  open  the  door 
and  told  us  that  he  was  very  sorry,  but  he  was  ordered  to 
have  us  constantly  in  sight,  and  therefore  he  must  ask  us  to 
excuse  him  if  he  and  his  men  sat  in  and  near  the  doorway. 
His  manner  was  really  kind,  and  he  did  no  more  than  barely 
carry  out  his  instructions.  Neither  he  nor  his  men  came  into 
the  parlor :  they  simply  kept  us  within  observation,  and  re- 
mained outside  in  the  hall.  I  asked  the  corporal  to  allow  me 
to  return  to  my  room  to  write  a  few  letters  and  make  some 
preparations  for  the  journey  to  Richmond.  At  first  he 
refused,  but  on  my  suggesting  that  he  could  send  soldiers 
with  me,  he  consented,  and,  guarded  by  two  armed  men,  one 
on  each  side  of  me,  I  went  back  about  1  o'clock  to  my  study. 
I  persuaded  the  soldiers  to  stay  outside  in  the  hall,  and  to  let 
me  be  by  myself  in  these  last  hours  at  my  home.  I  remained 
there  busy  until  3  a.  m.  Gen.  Ramseur  had  advised  us  to 
take  to  Richmond  only  one  or  two  changes  of  undergarments 
and  only  the  most  essential  toilet  necessaries.  As  it  was 
probable  that  we  should  be  obliged  to  walk  with  the  army, 
our  load  ought  to  be  as  light  as  possible  ;  at  any  rate,  the  risk 
of  being  robbed  en  route  of  any  supplies  which  could  not  be 
kept  constantly  about  one's  person  would  be  very  great.  I 
ought  to  mention  that,  before  I  left  Dr.  Kerfoot's  house,  ]^Ir. 


1864.]  APPENDIX  TO  CHAPTER  XL  305 

Breathed,  the  late  Curator,  had  come  in  full  of  sympathy.  3ir.  Breathed's 
He  promised  to  go  that  night  to  Gen.  Early's  headquarters,  *"  ^'^*"  ^^'" 
and  see  if  anything  could  be  done  towards  either  modifying 
the  character  of  our  arrest,  or  procuring  our  release  on  parole, 
or  at  any  rate  securing  the  relief  of  Dr.  Kerfoot  from  his  dis- 
tressing position.  Mr.  B.  was  very  kind,  and  although  he 
could  give  us  no  hope,  he  promised  to  make  every  exertion 
in  his  power. 

When  I  returned,  about  3  a.  m.,  to  the  rectory,  I  found 
the  family  still  up.  They  had  spent  the  interval  making 
all  arrangements  for  the  worst.  Dr.  Kerfoot  had  written 
some  letters,  and  had  given  such  directions  as  he  could 
as  to  the  future.  As  the  hom"s  went  by,  it  had  become 
pretty  plain  to  me,  as  well  as  to  him,  that  if  we  were  really 
obliged  to  march  back  with  Early's  army  and  go  on  foot  to 
the  Libby  Prison,  neither  of  us  had  much  chance  of  seeing 
home  or  friends  again.  Both  of  us  were  worn  out.  Dr. 
Kerfoot  was  even  before  this  much  broken  by  the  anxieties  of 
the  past  year,  and  the  shock  of  this  catastrophe  already  made 
him  look  ten  years  older.  I  was  myself  far  from  well — in 
fact,  I  may  say  really  sick — at  that  time,  the  result  of  exhaus- 
tion, poor  diet  and  overwork.  Perhaps  I  should  have  been 
mistaken,  but  I  well  remember  thinkmg,  as  I  sat  alone  in  my 
study,  that  a  few  weeks  would  probably  bring  an  end  to  our 
misery,  and  there  was  nothing  to  do  but  meet  the  fate  which 
was  coming  wisely  and  manfully,  in  the  fear  of  God,  and  with 
faithful  love  and  service  of  one  another. 

Dr.  K.  then  read  a  Psalm  (121st),  and  said  one  or  two 
Collects,  and  then  we  agreed  to  try  and  get  some  sleep.  ^  sleepless 
Mrs.  K.  went  up  staii's,  and  he  and  I,  wrapped  in  blanket"*^'''" 
shawls,  stretched  om'selves  out  on  the  floor  of  the  parlor.  I 
could  not  sleep,  nor,  for  that  matter,  did  Dr.  K.  do  more  than 
doze  in  a  disturbed  manner  a  few  moments  at  a  time.  Every 
now  and  then  we  exchanged  a  word  or  two.  I  shall  never 
forget  his  tender  thought  and  care  for  me  in  the  midst  of  his 
own  terrible  grief  and  anxiety — his  readiness  to  give  me 
advice,  his  thoughtful  suggestions,  and  his  assurances  that  any 
etlbris  made  in  his  behalf  should  include  me  also.    After  a 


306  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.  [Chap.  XI. 

little  more  than  an  hour's  uncomfortable,  wearisome  dozing, 
we  got  up  just  as  day  was  breaking,  in  order  to  have  time  for 
our  last  breakfast,  for  prayers  and  final  partings.  We  were 
not  allowed  to  leave  the  iDarlor,  and  basins,  towels,  etc.,  were 
brought  there  for  our  use.  All  were  quiet  and  resigned,  but 
very  careworn  and  sorrowful.  I  could  see  that  the  sympathies 
even  of  the  rough  soldiers  had  been  strongly  roused  in  behalf 
of  the  aflBicted  family.  They  were  respectful,  and  almost 
eager  to  show  how  sorry  they  felt  for  Dr.  Kerfoot,  I  think 
that  the  truly  Christian  spirit  in  which  the  calamity  had  been  ^ 
met,  and  of  which  they  were  close  witnesses,  had  deeply  im- 
pressed them.  I  am  free  to  say  that  those  hours  of  trial  gave 
me  a  new  insight  into  the  higher  and  finer  parts  of  Dr.  K.'s 
character,  and  enabled  me  to  realize  with  stronger  force  than 
ever  before  the  truth  and  power  of  the  Christian  graces  which 
adorned  it.  I  saw  then,  unmistakably,  that  the  words  "  Thy 
will  be  done,"  which  he  had  used  for  years  in  prayer,  had 
expressed  the  real  aspu'ation  of  his  heart,  the  motive  of  his 
life. 

We  went  out  to  breakfast  accompanied  by  two  guards, 
one  of  whom  placed  himself  behind  Mrs.  K.'s  chair  and 
the  other  at  the  door.  None  of  the  party  had  much 
appetite,  and  now  and  then  voices  would  falter  and  break 
for  a  moment  or  tears  blind  the  eyes.  But  there  was 
no  collapse  of  the  restraint  which  held  back  the  display  of 
emotions.  We  sat  talking  but  little,  oppressed  by  the  keen 
and  awing  sense  of  an  unascertainable  and  dangerous  future 
before  us.  In  the  midst  of  this  sorrowful  meal,  we  heard  the 
clatter  of  horses  and  hoofs,  and  the  noise  of  voices  and  move- 
ments to  and  fro  outside  the  house.  We  supposed  that  it 
was  the  signal  for  our  departure,  and  there  was  a  sort  of 
simultaneous  thrill  which  went  through  us,  and  a  start  to  rise 
from  the  table,  followed  by  exchanges  of  looks  and  glances, 
which  revealed  better  than  any  words  the  thoughts  within. 
However,  we  listened  attentively  for  a  while  and  then  heard 
the  steps  of  a  party  approaching  and  finally  entering  the 
house.  Almost  immediately  an  officer  (Lt.-Col.  Pendleton, 
Gen.  Early's  Adj't)  entered   the   dining-room   and,  bowing 


1864.]  APPENDIX  TO  CHAPTER  XL  307 

courteously,  said,  "Gentlemen,  Gen.  Early  desires  yonv  Arrival  of 
presence  in  the  parlor."  A  vivid,  powerful  dash  of  hope  at  *"'  '^  ^' 
once  rushed  in  upon  us.  It  was  so  sudden  and  startling  as 
almost  to  break  down  self-control.  I  can  recall  now  that 
burst  of  almost  new  life,  which,  like  an  electric  shock,  made 
me  quiver  from  head  to  foot.  The  whole  party  felt,  I  am 
sure,  the  same  revival  of  hope.  Our  sudden,  common 
thought  was,  "Mr.  Breathed  has  been  successful:  Gen.  Early 
can  only  wish  to  see  us  in  order  to  release  us."  But,  as  usual 
in  such  cases,  there  was  quick  reaction,  and  when  we  entered 
the  parlor,  short  as  the  time  had  been,  I  think  that  neither 
Dr.  Kerfoot  nor  myself  felt  sure  what  the  object  of  the  inter- 
view was. 

There  was  no  one  in  the  parlor  but  Gen,  Early,  Col. 
Pendleton  and  the  two  prisoners.  Gen.  Early,  tall,  pale 
and  grim-looking,  neatly  dressed,  seated  himself,  while,  to 
the  best  of  my  recollection,  we  remained  standing.  He 
immediately  began  an  address  to  us,  explaining  why  he  had 
ordered  our  arrest.  He  spoke  like  a  lawyer  arguing  in  de- 
fence of  a  cause,  and  I  confess  that  his  recital  of  the  cruelties 
and  needless  miseries  inflicted  on  the  people  of  Virginia  by 
political  generals,  or  irresponsible  parties  following  in  the 
wake  of  our  armies,  was  very  telling.  If  tlie  half  of  what 
Gen.  Early  recounted  was  true,  the  I^Torth,  in  spite  of  the 
justice  of  its  cause,  had  much  to  atone  for.  The  repri- 
sals begun  by  th&  South  seemed  justifiable,  as  being  their 
only  protection  against  injuries  and  outrages  neither  allowed 
by  the  laws  of  war  nor  called  for  by  any  extreme  necessity. 

The  address,  for  such  it  was,  lasted  nearly  an  hour,  and  we 
remained  in  painful  suspense  up  to  its  very  close.  I  imagine 
that  Gen.  Early's  plan  was,  if  possible,  through  our  case  to 
arouse  feeling  in  the  JTorth,  and  at  any  rate  protect  his  own 
reputation  as  an  honorable  and  Christian  soldier  from  future 
imputations  of  cruelty  or  ruthlessness  by  stating  publicly  and 
carefully  the  grounds  and  necessity  for  such  reprisals  on  the 
part  of  the  South  as  the  one  of  which  we  were  the  victims. 
However,  all  things  come  to  an  end,  and  so  did  Gen.  E.'s 
speech,  and  glad  enough  was  I  to  hear  him  say,  "  And  now, 


308  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  EERFOOT.  [Chap.  XI. 

gentlemen — to  come  to  your  own  case — I  have  decided  " — 
although,  until  his  actual  determination  was  uttered,  we 
remained  in  the  greatest  doubt  and  anxiety.  It  is  impossible 
to  describe  the  almost  bewildering  relief  which  came  when  he 
lieiease  m  &ii\(\^  "  I  have  decided  to  take  your  parole  on  the  following 
conditions :  you  are  to  effect,  if  possible,  the  exchange  of 
Dr.  Boyd  for  yourselves  ;  and  if  you  cannot  succeed  in  doing 
this,  you  are  to  surrender  yourselves  to  the  Confederate 
authorities  at  City  Point  three  weeks  from  to-day.  Colonel 
Tendleton  will  draw  up  the  required  form,  which  you  will 
sign,  and  of  which  he  will  give  you  a  copy."  I  ought  to  say 
that  Gen.  Early  added  that  he  had  been  induced  to  this  act  of 
clemency  by  the  fact  that  he  had  been  assured  by  responsible 
parties  that  while  Dr.  Kerfoot  and  myself  were  strong  Union 
men,  yet  we  had  taken  no  part  in  promoting  war,  nor  had 
done  anything  inconsistent  with  our  position  as  clergymen 
and  non-combatants,  and  that  we  had  made  no  distinction  of 
persons  in  whatever  we  had  done  for  the  sick  and  wounded 
after  the  battles  of  Antietam  and  Gettysburg.  I  thiuk  that 
Gen.  Early  made  a  strong  and  favorable  impression  on 
both  Dr.  K.  and  myself,  and  I  have  always  had  a  kindly 
feeling  towards  him  and  a  wish  to  see  him  again.  And 
his  defence  was  not  thrown  away.  I  thiuk  that  it  had 
a  marked  effect  on  Dr.  Kerfoot's  own  opinions  on  certain 
features  of  the  policy  of  our  Government  in  the  conduct 
of  the  war.  I  was  thrown  much  with  Dr.  K.  in  the  next 
three  weeks,  and  we  had  many  conversations  on  the 
events  and  questions  of  the  hour.  And  I  noticed  on  his  part 
a  deeper  tone  of  sympathy  and  compassion  for  the  Southern 
people,  and  a  distinct  recognition  of  many  unnecessarily  cruel 
and  vexatious  acts  perpetrated  in  the  name  of  the  Govern- 
ment by  generals  who  were  either  fanatical  partisans  or  un- 
principled demagogues.  At  the  same  time,  there  was  no 
change  in  his  strong  attachment  to  the  Northern  cause,  and 
unshaken  conviction  of  its  righteousness. 

When  the  formalities  had  been  transacted,  and  we  had  signed 
the  paroles,  Dr.  Kerfoot's  lirst  act  was  to  thank  Gen.  Early ; 
his  next  was  to  seek  his  wife  ;  and  the  joy  and  devout  gratitude 


1864.]  APPENDIX  TO  CHAPTER  XL  309 


with  which  they  met  may  well  be  imagined.  To  his  family  Dr. 
Kerfoot's  release  was  almost  like  a  return  from  the  dead,  for  tlie 
parting,  if  it  had  actually  occurred,  would  in  all  probability  have 
been  final — at  least  so  it  seemed  to  us  all  at  the  time.  The 
little  hall  and  the  path  before  the  front  door  of  the  rectory  were 
crowded  with  generals  and  staff  officers,  to  many  of  whom 
we  were  introduced.  These  were  cordial  in  theh-  congratula- 
tions, and  expressed  fervent  wishes  that  we  might  be  suc- 
cessful in  securing  the  release  of  Dr.  Boyd.  Our  horses  were 
at  that  moment  hidden  in  the  rectory  cellar,  and,  desiring  to 
secure  them,  in  order  to  expedite  the  journe}-  incumbent  upon 
us  for  the  discharge  of  our  parole  (we  did  not  know  to  what 
extent  railroads  had  been  damaged  by  tliis  last  raid,  or  how 
sweeping  had  been  the  seizure  of  horses  in  our  region  by  the 
Confederates),  we  asked  Gen.  E.  fur  a  safe  conduct  for  our 
horses,  which  he  at  once  cheerfully  granted.  Shortly  after 
this  he  mounted  his  horse  and,  accompanied  by  his  stafl",  rode 
away.  Presently  all  the  various  detachments  of  troops 
which  had  been  encamped  on  our  grounds  marched  off,  our 
guards  of  the  night  before  taking  an  affectionate  farewell. 

We  were  about  to  sit  down  and  consider  the  situation,  wlien  Depredations  by 
suddenly  a  band  of  rough,  fierce-looking  stragglers  rode  up*'"^^""*' 
and  demanded  our  horses.  Dr.  Kerfoot  produced  Gen.  Early's 
safe-conduct,  but  the  captain  of  the  party  contemptuously 
pushed  it  aside,  saying,  "  Jube  (meaning  Early)  only  gave 
that  for  gammon  :  this  (drawing  his  revolver)  is  my  warrant 
for  taking  the  horses  "  ;  and,  in  spite  of  our  protests,  his  men 
brought  the  poor  beasts  out  from  the  cellar,  and  the  whole 
party  at  once  galloped  away.  As  soon  as  the  last  soldier  or 
straggler  had  left  us,  we  sat  down  to  consult  on  our  course  of 
action.  First  and  chief,  Dr.  K.  and  myself  both  agreed  that  it 
would  now  be  impossible  to  reopen  the  College  uulil  the  close 
of  the  war.  In  leaving  St.  James's  now,  we  concluded  to 
seek  other  homes  for  the  future.  We  resolved,  therefore,  to 
pack  our  libraries  and  such  furniture  and  articles  as  we  wished 
to  have  sent  to  us,  and  to  arrange  for  the  disposition  of  every- 
thing else.  The  buildings  and  College  property  we  determined 
to  put  in  the  care  of  Mr.  Breathed  until  some  definite  and 


310  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.  [Chap.  XI. 

proper  arrangement  for  their  future  protection  could  be  made. 
As  we  had  but  three  weeks  in  which  to  get  our  exchange  for 
Dr.  Boyd  accomplished,  and  scarcely  knew,  as  yet,  wliat 
steps  to  take,  or  whether  the  exchange  was  even  possible,  we 
decided  to  go  to  Baltimore  at  once,  and  to  obtain  directions, 
information  and  help  there.  It  was  Saturday :  we  thought 
that  on  Tuesday  we  should  be  ready  for  our  journey.  In  the 
meanwhile  letters  would  be  written  to  our  friends.  Dr. 
Kerfoot  would  at  once  endeavor  to  obtain  hitroductions  for  us 
to  the  President  and  other  persons  whom  it  was  important, 
perhaps,  to  interest  in  our  behalf. 

The  plan  thus  indicated  was  carried  out.  The  breaking  up 
of  one's  home  at  such  short  notice  was  a  laborious  under- 
taking. Fortunately,  prompt  and  cordial  help  was  close  at 
hand.  Mr.  Breathed  was  most  assiduous  and  kind.  Howard 
and  Frank  Kennedy,  Howell  Griswold  and  Ben  Campbell 
came  out  from  HagerstoAvn,  and  lent  not  only  helping  hands, 
but  gave  their  assistance  most  lovingly  and  ungrudgingly. 
We  worked  like  beavers  all  day  Sunday.  George  Febri,  the 
old  college  gardener,  and  other  servants  fell  to  with  good 
will,  and  so,  when  Tuesday  came,  we  had  got  our  aflairs  into 
such  shape  that  what  remained  to  be  done  did  not  need  our 
presence  and  direction.  I  did  not  realize  on  that  Tuesday 
morning,  when  we  drove  away  in  the  coach,  tbat  we  had 
abandoned  our  dear  work  and  home  for  so  many  years. 

The  evening  before,  quite  late,  Dr.  K.  and  myself  had 
gone  into  the  chapel,  and  there,  kneeling  before  the  altar,  we 
had  been  for  a  few  moments  completely  overcome.  But  even 
then  Dr.  K.  in  his  prayer,  winch  was  the  outpouring  of  his 
thoughts  to  God,  spoke  as  if  it  might  be  God's  will  tbat  we 
should  return  there.  At  any  rate,  the  blow  which  had  fallen 
had  been  so  sudden  and  severe,  and  the  occupation  of  the 
last  three  days  so  incessant  and  toilsome,  that  we  were  too 
exhausted  to  realize  vividly  what  we  were  engaged  in  doing. 
Our  journey  was  without  event.  I  was  prostrated  by  heat 
and  fatigue,  and  sat  in  a  semi-stupor  most  of  the  time.  Dr. 
K.  seemed  completely  worn  out ;  but  he  had  the  cares  of  his 


1864.]  APPENDIX  TO  CEAPTER  XL  311 

family  on  his  mind,  and  made  a  great  effort  to  bear  up  and 
be  cheerful. 

We  reached  Baltimore  about  4  p.  m.  The  K.'s  went  to  conversufAm 
Bishop  Whittiugham's.  I  do  not  recall  where  I  went,  ungham. 
but  I  think  it  was  to  the  Misses  Baunings' — the  ladies  at 
whose  house  Dr.  Evans  had  rooms.  I  believe  that  we  all 
di-ove  at  first  directly  to  the  Bishop's,  and  there  I  saw  the 
Bishop  in  a  short  interview  with  Dr.  K.  The  Bishop  startled 
us  both  very  much  by  saying,  almost  immediately,  "You  did 
very  wrong  in  giving  any  parole,  and  I  hope  that  the  Gov- 
ernment will  prevent  your  keeping  it.  In  fact,  in  my 
opinion,  the  United  States  is  bound  to  see  that  you  do  not 
keep  it."  Dr.  K.  was  at  first  extremely  hurt  by  this  speech, 
but  he  soon  recovered  himself,  saying,  "Why,  surely, 
Bishop,  you  don't  think  I  ought  to  have  abandoned  my 
family  and  gone  to  Libby  Prison,  simply  because  in  our 
opinion  the  Confederacy  is  not  even  a  '  belligerent,'  but  only  a 
union  of  rebels  to  overthrow  the  rightful  Government?  If 
Gen.  Early  was  willing  to  take  my  parole  on  the  conditions 
named,  I  think  that  my  duty  to  my  wife  and  family  imposed 
upon  me  an  obligation  to  give  it,  superior  to  that  imposed  by 
any  theoretical  notions  about  the  legal  status  of  the  South." 
"No!"  replied  Bishop  W.,  "You  had  no  right  to  put  the 
Government  into  any  position  whereby  it  even  implicitly 
accords  to  the  South  the  rights  of  a  belligerent." 

The  conversation  was  harassing  to  both  parties.  At  last 
Dr.  K.  said  :  "Well,  Bishop,  the  parole  has  been  given,  and 
can't  be  recalled  now.  Surely,  you  must  agree  that  we  are 
bound  to  keep  it,  even  if  we  were  wrong  in  giving  it?  "  "If 
I  had  my  way  in  deciding  the  matter,"  responded  Bishop  W., 
hotly,  "I  should  send  you  to  Fortress  Monroe  or  Fort 
McHenry  until  the  war  was  over;  in  that  way  your  con- 
sciences would  be  absolved  from  the  sin  of  violating  your 
plighted  word,  and  the  cause  of  the  Government  would  not  be 
compromised  by  your  unwisdom."  I  shall  never  forget  the 
intensity  with  which  Dr.  K.  burst  out :  "  God  forbid,  then. 
Bishop,  that  the  deciding  of  our  cause  should  be  in  your 
hands ! "    However,  in  spite  of  this  difference  of  opinion  and 


312  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.  [Chap.  XI. 

rather  excited  discussion,  Bishop  W.  soon  made  it  clear  that 
he  took  the  deepest  interest  in  our  fortunes,  and  tliat  at  lieart 
he  was  Dr.  Kerfoot's  devoted  and  faithful  friend.  Before  I 
left  the  Bishop's  library,  where  this  interview  took  place,  the 
two  friends  had  come  to  agree  to  differ  on  the  subject  and  to 
let  discussion  drop,  and  Bishop  W.  was  listening  with  most 
eager  intentness  to  Dr.  Kerfoot's  narrative,  bursting  in  now 
and  then  with  the  warmest  expressions  of  sympathy  or  horror, 
and  testifying  most  significantly  his  profound  interest  in  the 
event,  and  his  wisli  to  help  and  comfort  us  to  the  extent  of  his 
power. 
Otn.Waiiace.  As  far  as  I  can  now  recall,  Gen.  "Wallace,  the  Com- 
mander of  the  Department  of  Maryland,  was  absent  from 
Baltimore  on  the  day  of  our  arrival.  But  lie  returned  the 
next  day,  and  we  went  to  see  liim  by  appointment  in  the 
afternoon.  A  gentleman  went  with  us  wlio  was  acquainted 
with  Gen.  W.,  but  I  do  not  now  remember  who  it  was,  and 
I  do  not  find  the  name  in  my  notes.  Perhaps  it  was  Dr. 
Evans.  It  was  a  very  hot  afternoon,  and  our  interview  was 
short  and  unsatisfactory.  After  informing  him  what  our 
errand  was,  our  first  inquiry  was  to  wliom  we  ought  to  apply 
in  order  to  liave  the  exchange  of  Dr.  Boyd  for  ourselves 
effected.  We  had  been  told  to  come  to  him  because  the 
record  of  Dr.  Boyd's  arrest  was  probably  kept  at  his  head- 
quarters, and  from  him,  therefore,  the  proper  orders  would 
issue.  Gen.  Wallace  assured  us  tliat  the  control  of  his  depart- 
ment did  not  extend  to  Virginia,  and  that  he  was  very  certain 
that  the  record  of  such  an  arrest  as  that  of  Dr.  Boyd  would 
not  be  found  at  Baltimore,  but  at  Gen,  Sheridan's  head- 
quarters, in  the  Shenandoah  Valley,  and  at  the  otlice  of  the 
Commissary-General  of  prisoners  in  Washington.  He  ordered 
a  searcli  to  be  made  in  the  books  of  his  office  in  order  to 
satisfy  us,  but  in  a  short  time  a  return  was  handed  in  saying 
that  the  name  of  Dr.  Boyd  was  not  on  any  official  list  of 
prisoners  at  Baltimore. 

Gen.  Wallace  advised  us  to  go  at  once  to  Gen.  Sheridan's 
headquarters,  and  to  make  inquiries  there.  We  had  already 
learned  from  Gen.  Early  that  Dr.  Boyd  had  been  arrested  by 


1864.]  APPENDIX  TO  CHAPTER  XL  313 

Geu.  Mili'oy,  who  was  at  that  thue  in  command  at  Win- 
chester, Va.,  and  it  therefore  seemed  highly  probable  that  the 
record  of  the  arrest  and  full  particulars  about  it  would  be 
obtained  at  Sheridan's  headquarters.  Gen.  Wallace  told  us 
that  he  had  received  a  singular  application  from  Bishop 
Whittingham,  with  respect  to  us,  a  few  days  ago.  The  Bishop 
had  requested  him  to  arrest  us  and  send  us  to  FortMcHenry, 
in  order  to  prevent  us  from  keeping  our  parole.  The  reasons 
given  by  the  Bishop  for  this  request  were  pretty  much  the 
same  as  those  stated  above  in  our  conversation  with  him 
on  our  arrival  in  Baltimore. 

The  result  of  our  visit  to   Gen.  Wallace    was    a   resolve 
to  go  the  next  day  to   Harper's    Ferry,   and  from   there  yign  f^  jjar- 
to  endeavor  to  get  an  interview  with  Gen.  Sheridan.     Thurs-  ^*'''*  ^^""V- 
day,   August   11th,   we  went  in   the   morning   to  Harper's 
Ferry.    Dr.  Kerfoot  had,   I  think,  written  or   telegraphed 
to  Gen.  Maulsby,  the  commandant  at  Maryland  Heights,  Qg^.  MmUby. 
who   was   the    father    of   one  of   the  old  students    at  St. 
James's,  informing  him  of  our  misfortunes  and  asking  his 
aid  and    furtherance  in  our  present  journey.      We  found 
Harper's  Ferry  pretty  much  in  ruins  ;  the  place  was  swarm- 
ing with  negroes,  teamsters,  soldiers,  contractors,   officers. 
The  hotel  was  shut  up,  and  we  got  our  dinner  in  a  cellar, 
where  a  sort  of  lunch-room  was  kept  by  a  woman.    The 
accommodation  was  sordid  enough,  but  we  were  anxious  and 
weary,  and  did  not  care  much  about  such  matters  as  food  and 
shelter.     We  had  hoped  to  have  been  met  at  the  train  by  an 
aid  or  orderly  from  Gen.  Maulsby,  to  give  us  directions  or  to 
take  us  to  the  camp.    But  we  wandered  disconsolately  about 
the  desolate  and  ruined  town  without  being  able  to  get  any 
information  as  to  the  steps  we  ought  to  take  to  accomplish 
our  object,  and  we  were  for  a  time  at  a  loss  to  know  where 
to  turn,  when,  happily,  we  espied  Gen.  Maulsby  riding  with 
two  orderlies,  apparently  seeking  ourselves.  We  at  once  made 
our  way  to  him,  were  received  cordially,  were  mounted,  and 
then  we  all  rode  away  to  the  General's  camp  on  Maryland 
Heights.    Gen.  Maulsby  was  most  kind ;   we  had  quarters 
in  an  old  farmhouse  where  he  and  his  military  family  were 


314  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  EERFOOT.  [Chap.  XI. 

established ;  and,  as  he  was  both  lawyer  and  soldier,  we  got 
from  him  much  needed  information  as  to  the  best  course  of 
action  for  us  to  follow.  We  had  a  comfortable  dinner  about 
sundown,  and  then  we  sat  talking  or  walked  about  looking  at 
the  lovely  views  until  ten.  At  Gen.  Maulsby's  request. 
Dr.  Kerfoot  read  prayers,  and  then  we  went  to  bed. 

It  had  been  arranged  that  the  next  morning  Gen.  Maulsby 
would  escort  us  to  the  headquarters  as  soon  as  his  duties  at 
the  Heights  were  discharged.  He  was  quite  sanguine  that  we 
should  have  no  trouble  in  getting  our  business  settled  next 
day.  We  retired  very  hopeful,  and  both  were  so  weai-y  that 
we  soon  fell  asleep,  and  did  not  rouse  until  the  clatter 
of  drums  and  the  bugle-call  in  the  morning  awaked  us. 
We  rode  oti"  about  eleven  o'clock  to  headquarters,  thi-ee  miles 
distant.  On  our  way  we  got  mixed  up  in  a  drove  of  fright- 
ened cattle,  and  our  whole  party  was  separated,  and  for  a 
while  each  one,  in  the  blinding  dust  and  uproar,  lost  all  sight 
or  knowledge  of  the  other.  It  was  some  ten  or  fifteen 
minutes  before  we  got  together  again  and  resumed  our  ride. 
We  reached  headquarters  at  noon,  and  were  there  introduced  to 
Gen.  Melvin,  Adjt.-Gen.,  I  believe,  of  Sheridan's  army,  though 
I  am  not  quite  sure  what  his  position  was.  After  hearing  our 
account,  he  said  he  would  have  the  proper  inquiries  made  and 
would  send  the  return  to  Gen.  Maulsby  at  Maryland  Heights, 
that  evening  or  the  next  morning.  The  order  for  the  ex- 
change would,  he  thought,  have  to  be  made  at  Wasliington ; 
he  did  not  think  Gen.  ISheridan  had  control  of  the  matter. 
We  asked  whether  there  would  be  any  use  in  our  going  to  see 
Sheridan  personally.  Gen.  Melvin  thought  that  Sheridan 
was  now  so  absorbed  in  his  campaign  that  he  would  grudge 
giving  time  to  any  matters  not  directly  connected  with  his 
plans  and  their  execution.  He  recommended  us  to  go  to 
Washington  and  lay  our  case  before  the  Secretary  of  War : 
the  matter  would  probably  be  finally  referred  to  him,  in  any 
event.  So  we  retui-ned  to  Maryland  Heights  not  so  buoyantly 
as  we  had  left  there  in  the  morning.  There  was  nothing  to 
be  done  now  except  to  go  back  to  Baltimore,  and  from  there 
to  Washington,  for  a  final  eflbrt.     We  spent  the  afternoon 


1864.]  APPENDIX  TO  CHAPTER  XL  315 

quietly,  dozing,  resting,  talking.  Towards  evening  a  mes- 
senger from  Gen.  Melvin  brought  a  note  saying  that  he  had 
been  unable  to  find  any  notice  of  Dr.  Boyd's  case,  and  had 
therefore  sent  to  the  field  headquarters  to  make  inquiry  there. 
He  would  forward  a  copy  of  the  result  of  his  search  to  Dr. 
Kerfoot,  at  any  address  designated,  as  soon  as  he  possibly 
could.  It  is  hard  to  describe  the  depression  which  this  note 
caused.  A  week  had  passed  since  our  arrest,  and  we  had  as 
yet  been  unable  to  get  the  necessary  information  about  Dr. 
Boyd  which  could  enable  us  to  procure  his  discharge  from 
prison.  It  seemed  almost  uncertain  whether  he  was  yet 
living,  and  nobody  knew  why  he  had  been  arrested  or  where 
he  was  confined.  Matters  began  to  look  unpromising  indeed, 
and  the  next  day  we  took  the  train  for  Baltimore  with  heavy 
hearts. 

I  have  no  clear  remembrance  of  the  following  two  or 
three  days,  except  that  they  were  passed  in  Baltimore. 
Dr.  K.  had  one  of  his  terrible  headaches  on  the  Sunday  after 
our  return,  and  we  were  both  worn  out  by  fatigue  and 
anxiety.  I  think,  moreover,  that  we  deferred  our  visit  to 
Washington  for  a  little  while,  with  the  hope  of  receiving 
particulars  from  Gen.  Melvin.  We  had  been  advised  not  to 
go  to  Washington  without  such  particulars,  since  we  should 
be  sent  at  once  to  the  headquarters  concerned  with  the 
matter.  Moreover,  to  trust  so  purely  a  personal  aflair  as  our 
exchange  to  the  tender  mercies  of  a  great  department  ab- 
sorbed by  the  events  and  necessities  of  the  Civil  War,  seemed 
almost  hke  abandoning  the  attempt  altogether.  We  wished, 
moreover,  to  take  to  Washington  such  recommendatory  letters 
as  would  secure  the  most  powerful  personal  influence  in  our 
behalf.  For  all  these  reasons  we  waited,  notwithstanding 
our  being  fully  aware  that  our  time  was  very  precious. 

I  can  find  no  record  of  what  we  did  during  these  days.  I  think 
that  I  was  so  tu-ed  and  sick  as  to  be  unwilling  even  to  write 
a  few  lines  in  my  diary.  I  am,  therefore,  stating  very  dim 
and  uncertain  recollections.  However,  we  went  to  Wash- 
ington on  the  afternoon  of  the  16th  of  August,  and  took  rooms 
at  Willard's  Hotel.  Dr.  Kerfoot's  first  measure  was  to  make  an 


316  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT,       [Chap.  XI. 

appointraeut  with  the  Rev.  Dr.  Ilall,  rector  of  the  Chuich  of 
the  Epiphany,  for  the  next  morning.  Dr.  K.  had  many 
letters  to  prominent  people,  but  we  had  been  advised  to  use 
them  for  the  purpose  of  procuring  personal  interviews,  and, 
by  that  means,  additional  letters  to  the  authorities  with  whom 
the  decision  would  finally  rest.  Our  first  visit  the  next  day 
was  made  in  company  with  Dr.  Hall  to  Adj.-Gen.  Townsend, 
U.  S.  A.,  the  father  of  an  old  St.  James's  boy,  and  a  church- 
man and  warden  of  the  Church  of  the  Epiphan}'. 

We  were  received  most  courteously,  and  were  assured  by  him 
that  the  matter  should  at  once  be  brought  to  the  attention  of 
Secretary  Stanton.  He  seemed  to  think  that  there  would  be  no 
difficulty  in  settling  our  business  very  speedily.  Unless  there 
were  special  facts  connected  with  Dr.  Boyd's  case,  which  did 
not  seem  probable,  the  exchange  could  be  made  at  once. 

We  were  detained  some  time  at  the  War  Department,  but  left 
the  office  much  encouraged  by  the  assurances  of  Gen.To  wnsend. 
Then  we  drove  over  to  the  Post-Office  Department,  and  made 
a  call  on  Third  Assistant  P.  M.  Gen.  Skinner,  an  old  friend 
of  my  father's,  and  finally  we  came  to  the  White  House,  and 
sent  in  our  names  and  letters  to  President  Lincoln.  We 
caught  a  glimpse  of  him  sitting  at  his  office  table,  looking 
very  haggard  and  weary. 

Presently  the  janitor,  a  vulgar,  shabbily-dressed  fellow,  came 
back  with  a  familiar  leer,  saying  :  "The  President  says  he  is 
too  tired  to  run  the  machine  any  longer,  and  you  must  call  to- 
morrow." We  were  rather  surprised  at  the  manner  in  which 
the  message  was  announced,  but  we  made  no  remarks,  and 
departed.  Then  we  went  to  the  Church  of  the  Epiphany, 
and  to  Dr.  Hall's  house,  and  by-and-by  back  to  the  hotel. 
The  next  day  we  called  on  Gen.  Townsend  and  had  a 
short  interview.  He  informed  us  that  thus  far  no  record 
of  Dr.  Boyd's  case  had  been  found.  We  asked  to  see 
Secretary  Stanton,  but  word  was  sent  down  that  he  was 
engaged,  and  that  we  must  come  on  another  day.  Then  we 
went  to  the  office  of  Gen.  Hitchcock,  Commissary-General  of 
Prisoners,  in  whose  books  the  name  of  every  person  arrested 
by  authority  of  the  United  States  Government  was  supposed 


1864.]  APPENDIX  TO  CHAPTER  XI.  317 

to  be  entered.  We  found  him  a  pleasant,  kindly,  military 
man,  who  told  us  that  search  had  already  heen  ordered  for 
Dr.  Boyd's  name,  but  that  no  return  of  the  case  had  ever 
been  made  to  that  office.  Other  inquiries  were  makinfr.  the 
General  added ;  and  he  spoke  in  strong  terms  of  the  conduct 
of  such  generals  as  arbitrarily  arrested  non-combatants  from 
personal  pique,  or  even  worse  motives,  and  vented  their 
spite  by  keeping  their  victims  in  jail  without  notifying  the 
proper  authorities  or  making  any  formal  charges.  Thus  the 
tedious  Thursday  wore  on,  and  night  found  us  beginning  to 
think  that  we  had  now  better  prepare  seriously  for  Libby 
Prison,  and  find  out  in  Washington  what  arrangements  for 
our  future  release  could  be  made,  in  case  Dr.  Boyd  should  be 
discovered  later.  We  talked  very  gravely  over  our  prospects 
and  plans  that  evening.  We  made  two  calls  on  old  St. 
James's  boys — Gen.  Sprigg  Carroll,  who  had  been  wounded 
in  some  battle  in  Virginia,  and  was  at  home  on  furlough ; 
and  Dr.  Hagner. 

The  next  day,  Friday,  August  19th,  we  repeated  very 
much  the  round  of  Thursday.  We  went  to  the  War  Office 
and  received  no  comfort,  and  to  Gen.  Hitchcock's  with  the 
same  result.  At  the  War  Department,  however,  Gen.  Town- 
send  told  us  that  he  had  at  last  succeeded  in  getting  Mr. 
Stanton  to  give  his  attention  to  the  affair.  Stanton,  we  were 
told,  was  in  a  towering  passion  about  Milroy's  conduct,  and 
had  said  that  if  Milroy  had  not  unluckily  already  resigned,  he 
would  have  him  tried  by  court-martial  and  cashiered.  Tele- 
grams had  been  sent  to  all  the  military  prisons  making  inquiry 
for  Dr.  Boyd.  His  release  would  be  ordered  just  as  soon  as 
definite  information  was  received  as  to  where  Dr.  Boyd  was, 
and  on  what  charges  held.  A  messenger  would  be  sent  to 
us  announcing  results  as  soon  as  the  matter  was  decided. 
During  the  day  we  saw  Mr.  Lincoln  walking  from  the  White 
House  to  the  War  Office.  He  had  a  great  stoop  in  his 
shoulders,  was  not  well-dressed,  and  his  face  had  what  I 
should  call  decidedly  Yankee  characteristics.  Even  if  I  had 
not  known  that  he  was  the  President,  I  should  have  been  struck 
by  his  angular  and  ungainly  figure,  his  sharp  features  and  his 


318  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.         [Chap.  XI. 

careworn  look.  But  I  was  then  scarcely  fit,  either  bodily  or 
mentally,  to  form  an  estimate  of  a  man  whom  I  afterwards 
learned  to  regard  as  perhaps  the  greatest,  and  certainly  one  of 
the  noblest,  of  Americans.  The  weather  was  frightfully  hot, 
and  we  went  back  to  the  hotel  to  pass  an  unquiet,  restless 
evening,  and  then  to  try  to  seek  in  sleep  forgetfulness  of  our 
troubles.  Between  11  and  12  at  night,  just  as  I  was  ready 
to  get  into  bed,  a  loud  knock  at  my  door  startled  me,  and  on 
opening,  an  orderly,  standing  before  me,  said:  "I  have  a 
note  from  Gen.  Hitchcock  for  the  Rev.  J.  H.  Coit."  I 
answered  that  I  was  the  party  addressed,  and  then  he  handed 
me  an  official  envelope,  which  I  tore  open  with  trembling 
fingers.  The  document  was  a  brief,  formal  one,  stating  that 
the  release  of  Dr.  Boyd  had  been  ordered,  and  that  he  would 
be  forwarded  to  his  home  at  once,  and  that  we  were  now 
honorably  discharged  from  our  parole.  Dr.  Kerfoot  re- 
ceived the  same  notice  at  the  same  time.  We  sought  eacli 
other  at  once  that  night,  and  joined  together  in  fervent 
thanksgiving.  We  were  both  very  happy,  and  talked  for  a 
long  while  about  our  future  plans,  and  towards  the  end  about 
the  past  life  at  St.  James's,  and  the  ties  and  associations 
which  had  bound  us  together  in  a  friendship  which  now 
nothing  but  death  could  break  or  alter.  And  we  finally 
parted  with  mutual  pledges  of  constant  memory  and  enduring 
love  and  regard.  The  next  morning  Dr.  Kerfoot  returned  to 
Baltimore  to  his  family,  to  whom  he  had  already,  as  soon  as 
possible,  telegraphed  the  joyful  news  of  his  discharge. 


CHAPTER  XII. 
Part  First. 

RECOLLECTIONS  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT's  LIFE  AND  WORK  AT 

ST.  James's,  etc. 
(By  the  Rev.  Joseph  H.  Coit,  M.  A.,  of  St.  Paul's  School.) 

Note. — The  following  account  of  St.  James's  College,  and  of 
Bishop  Kerfoot's  life  and  work  there,  has  heen  prepared  at  the  special 
request  of  Mrs.  Kerfoot  and  Mr.  Harrison.  I  have  endeavored  to  re- 
produce the  impressions  Bishop  Kerfoot  made  upon  me  while  I  was  a 
boy  under  his  direct  instruction  and  control,  and  I  have  added  the 
more  mature  judgments  formed  after  I  became  an  associate  in  his 
work  and  enjoyed  the  privilege  of  his  friendship.  Many  of  the  details 
mentioned  are  trivial,  hut  my  apology  for  recounting  them  is  that  I 
have  hoped,  by  their  means,  to  bring  out  more  clearly  some  of  the 
prominent  features  of  Bishop  Kerfoot's  character,  and  to  illustrate 
the  quality  of  his  work  as  an  educator  of  youth.  The  form  and  pur- 
pose of  this  narrative  have  obliged  me  to  introduce  myself  far  oftener 
than  I  could  wish  were  the  case.  I  venture  to  hope  that  I  shall 
be  pardoned  for  so  doing,  if  it  is  found  that  I  have  been  able  in 
this  way  to  give  something  like  a  true  picture  of  St.  James's  College, 
and  of  the  good  and  noble  man  who  presided  over  it.  J.  H.  C. 

The  College  of  St.  James  in  the  fall  of  1846  began  its  fifth  Beginning  of 
year.    It  had  grown  and  prospered  in  the  four  preceding  years,  "rftTn'nKer- 
and  had  already  acquired  some  reputation  and  notoriety.    I  ^'^'• 
do  not,  however,  recall  hearing  it  spoken  about  in  my  father's 
house,  although  I  have  no  doubt  but  that  it  was  discussed 
there,  for  he  was  a  clergyman  much  interested  in  the  theo- 
logical activities  and  ferments  of  those  days,  and  his  place  of 
residence  was  not  a  hundred  miles  distant  from  St.  James's. 
But  I  remember  distinctly  finding  one  day,  in  August,  1846, 
on  the  library  table,  a  "Register  of  the  College  of  St.  James." 
I  took  it  away  to  my  room,  and,  after  the  manner  of  boys, 


320  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.         [Chap.  XII. 

read  it  through  with  sundry  vague  longings  and  imaginings. 
The  result  of  several  desultory  perusals  of  the  register  was 
a  great  desire  to  go  to  this  school.  In  common  with  most 
boys,  I  felt  the  attraction  of  a  life  in  a  large  community  of 
companions  and  equals.  But  I  was  shy  and  reserved,  and 
kept  my  thoughts  and  wishes  to  myself.  At  last  I  made  a 
ventiu-e  and  wrote  a  letter  to  Mr.  Kerfoot,  the  head  of  the 
College,  telling  him  who  I  was  and  what  my  wishes  were. 
After  the  letter  had  gone  I  passed  a  week  in  anxious  suspense, 
sometimes  wishing  that  no  answer  should  come,  and  again 
almost  in  despair  because  one  did  not  come.  Ten  days  or  more 
went  by  without  the  mail  bringing  me  any  reply,  and  I 
resigned  myself  to  the  mortifying  reflection  that  my  applica- 
tion had  been  ignored  because  written  by  a  boy  on  his  own 
behalf.  I  was,  therefore,  quite  startled  when,  a  week  or  two 
later,  my  father  handed  me  a  letter  which  he  had  just  received 
from  Mr.  Kerfoot.  I  do  not  now  recall  the  contents  of  this 
letter,  but  I  know  that  it  was  generous  and  sympathizing, 
and  it  awakened  in  me  those  feelings  of  trust  and  regard 
which  experience  afterward  nurtured  into  affection  and  fi'iend- 
ship.  After  a  few  days'  deliberation,  it  was  decided  that  I 
should  go  to  St.  James's  as  soon  as  I  could  be  got  readv. 
Early  in  November  I  left  home  for  school.  I  had  many 
curious  thoughts  about  the  place  and  the  instructors,  and  par- 
ticularly about  the  Rector.  He  had,  by  a  kind  letter,  ad- 
dressed to  me  personally,  heightened  my  prepossessions 
towards  him.  With  eager  and  admiring  eyes  I  gazed  for  the 
first  time  on  the  spot  which  was  to  be  my  home  for  eighteen 
years. 
stfjaS.  "'^  The  College  of  St.  James  is  situated  in  that  portion  of  the 
sif.uatim  and  Cumberland  Valley  which  lies  between  the  two  chains  of  tlie 

buildings.  •'  ,  ,  c-,       ^    ^r 

Blue  Ridge  known  respectively  as  ISorth  and  South  Moun- 
tains. The  country  is  what  is  called  a  rolling  one — very 
irregular,  broken  up  into  hills  and  dales,  and  well  watered  by 
brooks  and  streams.  The  soil  is  fertile,  and  the  region  is 
populous  and  extensively  cultivated.  The  main  buildings  of 
the  College  stood  on  a  gentle  eminence,  and  stretched  out  to 
a  length  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  with  sufficient  variety 


1846-64.]     LIFE  AND  WORK  AT  ST.  JAMES'S.         321 

to  please  the  eye.  The  road  went  around  a  large  circle 
adorned  with  a  few  noble  trees,  and  brought  one  in  front  of 
the  principal  entrance.  The  buildings  faced  the  north,  and 
were  composed  of  a  central  structure, — originally  the  mansion 
of  a  rich  Maryland  gentleman.  Gen.  Rlnggold,^and  of  two 
prominent  wings  connected  with  the  middle  part  by  small 
erections  drawn  back  from  the  front  line  and  lower  than  the 
other  members  of  the  edifice.  The  principal  door  opened  on 
a  broad  stone  platform,  to  which  a  flight  of  massive  steps 
ascended.  The  Rector}'  was  a  new  building  adjoining  the 
west  ^ving,  and  was  finished  during  the  fall  and  winter  of  my 
first  year  at  the  College.  The  whole  range  of  buildings  had 
been  freshly  whitewashed,  as  was  customary  every  terra,  and 
consequently  looked  clean  and  bright.  About  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  distant,  on  the  west,  was  a  large  and  handsome  private 
residence  belonging  to  Prof.  Anderson,  Mrs.  Kerfoot's 
brother,  and  directly  opposite  the  northeast  corner  of  the 
College,  and  separated  from  it  by  playing-fields  and  an 
orchard,  was  a  new  and  pretty  brick  cottage,  the  property  of 
Prof.  Trevett.  Between  this  last  building  and  the  College 
was  a  barn-like,  wooden  structure,  intended  for  a  gymnasium. 

After  I  had  alighted  from  the  wagon  which  had  brought  me  First  mtenieiv 
from  Hagerstown,  I  stood  looking  about  at  my  new  sxxvvovLnd'  fooi—ms  per- 
ings.    The  boys  were  evidently  all  engaged  in  recitations  or  anceani^"^^' 
other  school-work,  for  nobody  was  in  sight  in  any  direction,  "xmmr. 
Presently   the   front   door   opened,  and   a    pleasant-looking 
fellow  dashed  out,  and,  coming  up,  stared  at  me  half  playfully 
and  half  critically ;  then  asked  who  I  was,  and  if  I  wanted  to 
see  Mr.  Kerfoot.     On  my  saying  that  I  did  not  know  where 
to  go,  or  exactly  what  to  do,  he  led  the  way  at  once  to  the 
room  then  temporarily  used  as  the  Rector's  stud}^  and  soon 
afterwards  given  to  the  "Belles  Lettres  Society"  for  a  hall. 
Here  I  had  my  first  interview  with  Mr.  Kerfoot.     I  thought 
then,  and  I  still  think,  that  he  was  a  very  fine-looking  man. 
He  was  of  good  height  and  proportions,  erect  and  dignified, 
and  with  a  very  striking  face.     The  eyes  were  grayish  blue, 
the  hair  thick  and  brown,  the  forehead  broad  and  high,  and 


322  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.  [Chap.  XH. 

the  mouth  expressed  both  decision  and  humor.  He  met  me 
with  a  frank,  cordial  smile  and  a  hearty  srasp  of  the  hand, 
and  then  made  me  sit  down,  and,  as  I  afterwards  reflected, 
encoura2:ed  me  to  talk,  rather  than  said  much  himself.  After 
I  had  told  him  about  my  studies,  home,  tastes  and  ambitions, 
he  sent  for  a  boy,  to  whose  kindness  and  care  he  commended 
me,  sayins;  that  after  supper  some  of  the  instructors  would 
examine  me,  and  that  my  place  in  the  dormitory  and  lava- 
tory would  be  assigned  by  the  Rector  of  the  grammar 
Axivice  to  a  new  ^^^Qf^-^^  ^g  j  ^^g  woing  out,  he  added:  "You  have  never 
been  to  school  before?  Perhaps  you  don't  know  that  in 
these  places  boys  sometimes  tease  a  new-comer.  Well,  now, 
let  me  give  you  a  caution.  Don't  talk  much;  ask  Will" — 
the  boy  to  whom  he  had  introduced  me — "  if  you  don't  know 
what  to  do,  and  try  to  be  good-natured  and  keep  your  eyes 
open."  He  gave  me  a  kindly,  yet  rather  searching,  look,  and 
I  went  off  with  my  companion  to  begin  my  life  in  the  school. 
An  hour  or  two  later  I  saw  Mr.  Kerfoot  come  into  the  dining- 
room  and  take  his  place  at  the  head  of  a  table.  There  was 
something  quite  commanding  in  his  air,  and  I  noticed  that 
the  boys  hushed  their  voices  as  he  passed  through  them,  and 
that  their  manner  towards  him  was  very  respectful.  His 
voice,  as  he  said  grace,  sounded  firm  and  strong,  and,  while 
not  musical,  was  pleasing  in  tone,  and  had  the  ring  of  force 
and  sincerity. 
Bining-rooni.  The  diuiug-room  then,  and  until  the  erection  of  Kemp 
Hall,  in  1852,  was  in  the  basement  of  the  west  wing.  It  was 
reached  by  a  crooked,  narrow  flight  of  steps,  and  a  long,  dark 
passage  between  the  kitchens  and  store-rooms.  The  apart- 
ment was  very  humble,  not  entirely  comfortable,  and  without 
ornament  of  any  kind.  But  most  of  the  boys  were  sons  of 
gentlemen,  and  well-bred,  the  matron  was  by  birth  and  social 
training  a  lady,  and  in  those  early  da}'S,  as  well  as  always 
afterwards,  the  Rector  conducted  the  College,  not  with  refer- 
ence to  money-making,  but  with  a  generous  and  high-minded 
care  for  the  boys  committed  to  him,  and  with  the  unvarying 
aim  of  making  the  school  a  home  healthful  for  body  and 


1846-64.]       LIFE  AND  WORK  AT  ST.  JAMES'S.       323 

mind  and  soul.  The  dietary  was  plain,  but  really  good  of  its  **  "'''^' 
kind,  and  the  food  was  usually  well  cooked  and  decently 
served.  Meat  was  given  at  breakfast  three  times  a  week, 
and  always  at  dinner,  except  on  Fridays,  "when  it  was  re- 
placed by  soup  and  fish  or  eggs.  A  large  and  excellent 
garden  was  kept  up,  and  the  supply  and  variety  of  vegetables 
were  amply  sufficient.  Three  times  a  week  we  had  a  dessert, 
consisting  of  pie  or  custard,  with  now  and  then  a  dish  called, 
from  its  size,  "apple-acre,"  of  which  we  were  extravagantly 
fond.  The  supper  was  composed  chiefly  of  good  bread  and 
butter  and  weak  tea,  varied  twice  a  week  by  the  addition  of 
hot  rolls,  and  now  and  then  by  the  agreeable  presence  of 
cheese,  preserves,  stewed  fiaiit  or  plain  cake.  Of  course, 
there  were  occasional  mishaps  in  the  culinary  and  house- 
keeping departments,  and  there  were  times  when  the 
grumbling  was,  perhaps,  justifiable.  But,  on  the  whole,  the 
boys  thrived  on  the  whole-ome,  simple  fare  supplied  them, 
and  the  reasonable  ones  were  content. 

The  bare  and  unattractive  appearance  of  the  dining-room  fl^jfif,y/^nd 
was,  I  soon  discovered,  only  one  instance  of  a  general  rule,  atm.nwof 
It  was  always  much  to  be  regi-etted  that  the  means  of  the 
College  were  so  limited  and  so  absorbed  by  its  pressing  needs 
as  to  prevent  any  expenditures  in  ornamenting  grounds  or 
buildings.  The  class-rooms  were  inadequate  and  roughly 
furnished.  The  dining-room,  dormitories,  study-halls,  were 
destitute  of  pictures,  illuminated  texts,  or  any  objects  which 
could  please  the  eye  and  educate  the  taste.  For  the  most 
part,  the  rooms  in  which  we  lived  and  worked  were  contained 
by  four  white  walls,  and  furnished  barely  with  the  necessary 
apparatus  for  their  uses.  The  exceptions  to  this  description 
were  the  apartments  of  the  old  Ringgold  mansion  employed 
for  school  purposes.  These  had  some  handsome  features  and 
ornaments,  and  I  had  always  a  sense  of  pleasure  when  our 
duties  or  class-rank  brought  us  into  them.  The  various 
structures  erected  as  means  permitted,  with  the  exception  of 
Kemp  Hall,  such  as  students'  rooms,  dormitories,  and  so  on, 
were  necessarily  of  the  plainest  kind,  and  built  as  cheaply  as 


324  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.  [Chap.  XTI. 

possible.  There  was  great  need  at  St.  James's,  not  only 
during  my  boy -life  there,  but  always,  of  more  appropriate  and 
tasteful  buildings,  and  other  accommodations,  than  existed. 
Certainly,  the  moral  and  intellectual  parts  of  the  education  of 
boys  are  the  most  important,  and  should  first  of  all  be  pro- 
vided for ;  but  experience  shows  that  physical,  social  and 
aesthetic  training  ought  to  be  attended  to  with  almost  equal 

Education  a  QQXG.     The  notion  of  education  as  complex  and  many-sided, 

complex  art.  .  .  ^    4.       i,  tu  c 

as  an  art  requirmg  not  merely  the  power  to  teach  the  use  or 

certain  languages  or  sciences,  but  also  demanding  skill,  tact, 
knowledge  of  the  world,  generous  sympathy  with  human 
infirmities,  ability  and  quickness  in  comprehending  the 
special  needs  of  individuals,  genuine  literary  instincts  and 
enthusiasms,  and  a  high  moral  and  intellectual  standard,  has 
only  begun  lately  to  be  fairly  comprehended  in  this  country. 
The  people  of  the  United  States  owe  to  Dr.  Muhlenberg  and 
Bishop  Kerfoot  a  larger  debt  than  will  probably  ever  be 
acknowledged  for  having  given  this  complex  idea  of  education 
impetus,  development  and  extension.  The  scenes  of  their 
labors  were  doubtless  contracted,  and  the  nature  of  their  task 
withdrew  them  from  public  notice  and  applause.  They  were 
pioneers,  working  in  a  new  countr}',  with  scanty  material  and 
resources,  scarcely  conscious  of  the  real  largeness  of  their 
undertaking,  and  feeling  their  way  to  wider  and  more  com- 
prehensive plans  and  ideas  under  the  severe  training  of  dis- 
appointment, depreciation  and  meagre  support.  They  did 
not  come  into  any  broad  and  direct  contact  with  their  day  and 
generation  :  it  was  impossible  that  they  should.  But  their 
experiments,  their  failures,  their  ideas,  their  noble  and  gen- 
erous ideals — alas !  never  fully  realized — have  been  seeds  which 
have  sprung  up  and  borne  good  fruit.  Others  have  entered 
upon  their  labors,  and  the  result  has  been  the  formation  and 
diftusion  of  notions  and  standards  of  education  which  are 
having  most  beneficial  influences  throughout  the  land. 
Voiuge  chapel  After  supper  we  went  immediately  to  the  chapel  for  evening 
'prayers.  The  second  story  of  the  east  wing,  together  with  the 
attic,  had  been  converted  into  a  large  upper  room  suitably 


1846-64.]      LIFE  AND  VrORK  AT  ST.  JAMES'S.        325 

anauged  for  the  miuistry  of  the  Word  and  prayer.  The 
Rector  did  not  ordinarily  take  part  in  the  week-day  morning 
and  evening  services,  except  on  such  occasions  as  saints' 
days,  or  for  special  reasons.  The  daily  service  of  the  Church 
was  read  on  Wednesday  and  Friday  mornings  only,  until  the 
consecration  of  the  chapel  in  1848 ;  but  after  that  event,  for 
many  3ears  morning  and  evening  prayer  were  said  at  St. 
James's  without  any  curtailment  throughout  the  session,  and 
often  during  a  large  part  of  the  long  vacation.  The  saints' 
days  were  observed  by  a  suspension  of  work  in  the  last  hour 
of  the  morning  and  a  service  in  the  chapel,  consisting  of  the 
ante-communion  and  a  short  sermon  or  reading.  Mr.  Kerfoot 
and  the  associate  clergy  were  reputed  to  be  very  High 
Chm-chmen,  and  were  often  stigmatized  as  Puseyites,  or 
Romanists  in  disguise,  by  prejudiced  or  ignorant  persons. 
The  actual  fact  was  that  both  the  teaching  and  practice  at  St. 
James's  were  moderate  compared  with  what  now  may  be 
heard  and  seen  in  hundreds  of  churches  of  the  Anglican 
Communion.  The  ritual  of  the  College  chapel  consisted  in 
an  orderly  following  of  the  rubrics,  and  in  the  adoption  of  a 
few  customs,  sanctioned  by  the  Bishop  of  the  Diocese,  con- 
nected with  no  doctrinal  teaching,  but  agreeable  to  propriety 
and  good  taste,  and  designed  to  excite  reverence  and  interest. 

The  Psalter  was  read  in  accordance  with  the  parallelisms  pg^,/;^^?'  way  of 
in  the  original  Hebrew,  and  thus  each  verse  was,  as  it  were,  reading  the 

=  '  '  '  Psalter. 

divided  into  two,  the  clergyman  saying  the  fii'st  or  principal 

clause,  and  the  congregation  answering  with  the  remaining 

one.     1  grew  to  like  this  manner  of  reading  the  Psalter  very 

much.    Sometimes  the  meaning  seemed  to  be  brought  out 

more  vividly  than  it  could  be  in  the  ordinary  practice,  and 

certainly  the  custom  made  that  part  of  the  service  lively  and 

interesting.     Our  attachment  to  what  many  persons  thought 

a  queer  performance  was  heightened  by  a  tradition  cuiTcut 

among  the  boys  that  this  manner  of  dividing  the  Psalter  had 

been  the  use  in  the  Jewish  Temple  service.    Perhaps  the 

novelty  and  strangeness  of  the  custom  made  the  charm,  but 

certainly  it  aroused  attention,  and  I  have  never  heard  the 

Psalter  said  by  minister  and  people  with  more  animation 


326 


LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.         [Chap.  XII. 


than  in  the  humble  College  chapel."  Among  the  piactices 
which  in  those  days  gave  offense  to  partisan,  and  perhaps  to 
some  conservative,  persons,  were  the  wearing  the  surplice  in 
preaching,  and  "  turning  the  back  to  tlie  congregation,"  or,  as 
we  say  now-a-days,  "facing  the  altar,"  during  the  Creed 
or  prayers.  But  the  harmlessness  and  propriety  of  these 
and  other  hke  customs  are  now  happily  past  dispute.  For 
myself,  I  may  say  that  I  was  greatly  impressed  by  the  chapel 
services  from  the  first.  They  were  much  more  attractive,  as 
well  as  shorter,  than  any  I  had  been  accustomed  to,  and 
neither  I  nor  my  companions,  although  critical  concerning 
such  things,  detected  anything  unreal  or  sentimental  about 
them. 

From  the  chapel  the  boys  went  to  the  study-halls  or  to 
their  rooms.    I  was  conducted  to  the  grammar-school  study, 


'[An  example  will  illustrate. 
Almost  any  Psalm  will  serve  the 
purpose :  take  Psalm  xix : — 

The  heavens  declare  the  glory  of 
God: 
And  the  firmament  showeth  His 
handiwork. 
One  day  telleth  another : 

And  one  night  certifleth  another. 
There  is  neither  speech  nor  lan- 
guage : 
But  their  voices  are  heard  among 
them. 
Their  sound  is  gone  out  into  all 
lands : 
And  their  words  into  the  end  of 
the  world. 

The  colon  in  the  English  Prayer 
Book  (unfortunately  and  strange- 
ly omitted  in  our  American  book) 
makes  the  division  perfectly  easy; 
but  even  without  tnat  aid  it  was 
managed  without  difficulty  at 
St.  James's.  Visiting  clergymen 
were    sometimes    puzzled,    but 


Bishop  Whittingham  delighted  in 
it.  One  Sunday  morning,  as  the 
Bishop  was  disrobing  after  serv- 
ice, the  Rev.  D.  E.  Lyman,  then 
revisiting  the  College,  protested 
against  this  practice,  saying  he 
did  not  like  it  at  all. 

The  Bishop.— '' Oh,  I  do:  it's 
the  proper  way  to  read  the 
Psalter." 

Mr. Lyman. — "  But,  Bishop,  it's 
an  innovation,  and  you  know  you 
are  opposed  on  principle  to  all 
innovations.  How  can  you  jus- 
tify it  i"' 

The  Bishop  rejoined  as  quick 
as  lightning:  "Ah!  this  is  a 
private  chapel;  I  never  would 
sanction  it  in  a  parish  church; 
but  I  wish  with  all  my  heart  the 
General  Convention  wo i<?cZ  author- 
ize it:  it  brings  out  the  true 
beauty  of  the  Psalter  as  no  other 
way  of  reading  it  can  possibly 
do."— H.  H  J 


1846-64.]      LIFE  AND  WORK  AT  ST.  JAMES'S.         327 

and  giveu  my  seat  and  desk.  The  grammar  school  was  a  Grammar-school 
plain,  new,  brick  building,  two  stories  in  height,  the  lower  *''"'^- 
being  used  as  a  study-hall,  the  upper  as  a  dormitory,  and  part 
of  the  basement  as  a  lavatory.  It  had  only  just  been  occupied, 
and  the  rooms  looked  fresh  and  clean,  but  the  furniture  was 
very  plain,  being  the  bare  necessaries  required.  The  light 
was  bad,  for  one  sperm  caudle  only  was  supplied  to  each  pair 
of  adjacent  desks.  However,  there  were  but  few  weak  eyes 
in  those  days,  and  although  boys  often  had  to  strain  theu: 
sight  in  making  out  lessons,  or  in  writing  exercises,  they  ex- 
perienced no  ill  result.  The  various  eye  troubles  now  so  rife 
among  boys,  and  often  causing  many  injurious  interrup- 
tions to  their  studies,  were  then  almost  unknown,  at  least 
among  the  sons  of  Southern  gentlemen.    The  candles  were  „  ,     ^,-  ,, 

°  "  Modes  of  hght- 

shortly  after  replaced  by  camphene  or  burning-tluid,  which  ing. 
about  that  time  came  into  use.  But  while  this  change  im- 
proved the  Ught,  there  were  several  alarming  accidents,  owing 
to  upsetting  the  little  lamps  furnished  us,  or  to  the  attractive 
experiments  which  we  found  could  be  made  with  the  highly 
inflammable  and  explosive  fluid.  By-and-by  coal  oil  was  in- 
troduced, and  thenceforward  the  various  rooms  and  halls  were 
well  lighted. 

Directly  after  coming  from  chapel  fifteen  minutes  were  set  Bible-reading. 
apart  for  Bible-reading.  The  boys  were  not  obliged  even 
to  open  theu"  Bibles,  but  in  quiet  ways  many  influences  were 
employed  to  induce  them  to  use  the  time  willingly  for  its 
allotted  pui-pose.  Once  in  a  while  Dr.  Kerfoot  would  come 
in  and  walk  around  the  desks  during  ''Bible  hour,"  and  while 
he  rarely  spoke  to  a  boy  then  and  there,  yet  if  he  saw  one 
neglecting  to  read  his  Bible,  or  doing  so  in  a  trifling  or  careless 
way,  he  would  find  opportunity  to  talk  to  him  privately,  as 
his  friend  and  pastor,  in  regard  to  this  matter.  He  recom- 
mended the  custom  to  all  as  one  which  would  prove  a  great 
help  and  blessing  if  followed  in  a  sensible  manner,  and  with 
an  honest  desire  to  get  instruction  concerning  one's  duty. 
Sometimes  he  would  speak  publicly  to  us  on  the  subject,  either  ^  , 

in  the  chapel  or  school-room.    Once  every  year  he  preached  encourage  it. 
a  sermon  on  the  Bible,  explaining  what  book  it  was,  the 


328  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.        [Chap.  XII. 

obligation  to  use  it,  and  the  advautages  which  followed  a 
devout  and  regular  reading  of  it.  He  gave  short  and  plain 
directions  as  to  the  way  in  which  we  should  go  to  the  Bible 
for  rules  of  conduct  and  instructions  for  conscience,  illustra- 
ting his  advice  with  homely  and  pertinent  cases,  and  occasion- 
ally enforcing  his  teaching  by  quoting  the  sayings  of  pious 
men,  or  by  incidents  from  their  lives.  The  result  of  Dr. 
Kerfoot's  care  and  eflbrt  was  that  the  Bible  hour  was,  on  the 
whole,  well  observed,  and  while  criticised  by  certain  groups 
of  boys  as  being  really  obligatory,  and  as  imposing  too  much 
religion  on  them,  was  generally  recognized  by  us  as  a  good 
and  helpful,  as  well  as  proper,  custom.  What,  perhaps,  after 
all,  most  eflectually  silenced  cavil  and  carried  the  majorit}'^  to 
a  willing  acceptance  of  Dr.  Kerfoot's  advice  was  a  deep  con- 
viction of  his  sincerity.  He  practised  his  own  teaching, 
lived  in  accordance  with  it,  and  the  boys  were  quick  to  see 
this.  I  recall  how  many  times,  on  going  to  his  study,  I  found 
him  sitting  by  his  table  reading  a  copy  of  the  Greek  Testa- 
ment, which  soon  became  quite  familiar  to  me  ;  how,  when 
any  of  us  were  in  the  infirmary,  sick  in  bed,  he  would  come 
into  the  room  in  the  evening  and  read  a  Psalm  or  a  few 
verses  from  the  Gospel,  say  a  short  prayer,  and  then  go  out 
leaving  us  soothed  and  quieted  by  the  thought  that  God's 
blessing  and  care  were  with  us. 
A  school  restric-  After  Bible  hour  we  were  allowed  to  spend  the  evening  in 
Hon  cmid  its  rea- ^j,^^^j^^  letters,  reading  or  studying;  but  no  talking  was  per- 
mitted. It  would  have  been  the  greatest  pleasure  to  us  to 
have  been  allowed  to  talk  and  to  play  games  during  this  last 
hour  of  our  day.  The  time  was  not  specially  allotted  to 
study,  and  the  only  reason  I  ever  heard  for  the  prohibition  of 
talking  was  the  abuse  made  of  the  permission  of  it.  There 
were  some  among  my  comrades — there  are  always  such  boys 
in  every  school — who  provoked  rules,  and  hindered  relaxation 
for  the  rest,  by  wilful  or  foolish  boisterousness  whenever 
seasons  for  quiet  amusement  and  conversation  were  granted. 
In  later  years,  when  I  discussed  school  discipline  with  Dr. 
Kerfoot,  I  ventured  to  urge  the  apparent  injustice  of  with- 
holding privileges  from  orderly  boys  on  account  of  the  ill- 


1846-64.]     LIFE  AND  WORK  AT  ST.  JAMES'S.         329 

behaved  and  disobedient.  But  he  answered  that  matters  of 
this  kind  had  sometimes  to  be  settled  on  the  broad  principle 
that  a  school  was  a  microcosm,  a  copy  in  miniature  of  the 
great  world,  and  that  in  the  former  as  in  the  latter  the  inno- 
cent often  bear  the  burdens  of  the  wrongdoers,  suffer  with 
and  for  them.  We  could  not,  many  times,  help  that,  but  our 
care  should  be,  not  to  bring  about  such  results  unnecessarily 
or  arbitrarily,  and  to  sacrifice  everything  but  justice  and 
truth  to  avoid  them. 

At  nine  the  bell  rang,  and  we  hastened  to  the  dormitories.  Dormitwie 
These  were  arranged  then  somewhat  as  is  occasionally  seen 
in  schools  on  the  Continent.  A  large  room  was  filled  with 
rows  of  cots.  No  conveniences  of  any  sort  were  supplied, 
and  no  seclusion  was  possible.  We  folded  our  garments  and 
put  some  of  them  under  our  pillows  and  some  at  the  foot  of 
the  bed.  A  small  space  was  separated  by  curtains  for  the 
bed  of  the  prefect  who  had  us  in  charge.  The  order  was 
intended  to  be  very  strict,  no  communications  of  any  kind 
being  allowed,  and  perfect  decorum  and  quiet  expected.  Dr. 
Kerfoot  laid  great  stress  on  having  good  order  in  the  dormitory; 
and  while  he  scarcely  ever  visited  our  night-quarters,  except 
in  cases  of  sickness  or  accident,  he  always  kept  himself  well 
informed  about  their  condition.  He  was  accustomed  to 
speak  very  earnestly  to  those  who  were  entrusted  with  their 
supervision,  concerning  the  gravity  and  usefulness  of  tliis 
otfice,  since  it  involved  a  serious  care  of  morals  and  health, 
and  aftbrded  many  opportunities  for  doing  a  kindness  to  a 
boy,  or  saying  a  helpful  word  at  an  hour  when  he  was  often 
most  ready  to  listen.  Two  or  three  years  after  I  came  to  St. 
James's,  alcoves  were  provided  for  a  large  number  of  the 
boys.  The  partitions,  to  be  sure,  were  made  of  muslin,  but 
a  sufficient  amount  of  privacy  was  secured.  I  had  a  rather 
unhappy  experience  in  my  first  dormitory,  for  the  prefect  was 
over-confident  in  his  power  of  keeping  order,  and  prided  him- 
self on  his  keenness  and  promptness.  It  was  therefore  the 
great  delight  of  the  boys  to  outwit  him.  This  they  often  did, 
and,  as  a  consequence,  myself  and  others  were  the  victims  of 
many  annoying  tricks,    I  never  became  used  to  the  publicity 


330  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.  [Chap.  XII. 

of  the  first  arrangement,  and  heartily  rejoiced  when  I  could 
get  ready  for  bed  behind  even  the  thin  muslin  curtains  of  the 
alcoves. 

A  great  deal  of  roughness  and  discomfort  in  the  school- 
life  of  boys  was  then  common,  and  was  even  approved  and 
thought  advantageous  by  many  parents  and  teachers.  But 
at  St.  James's  the  progress  was  always  from  the  old  bar- 
barities and  hardships  to  more  comfortable  ways  of  living,  and 
as  soon  as  the  finances  made  it  possible  the  dormitories  were 
improved.  The  ideals  at  St.  James's  were,  of  course,  far 
better  than  the  results  attained,  but  I  early  perceived  that  the 
ideals  were  always  vividly  present  in  Dr.  Kerfoot's  mind. 
He  was  ever  aiming  at  them — modifying  them,  indeed,  by 
experience,  but  never  losing  sight  of  them  as  incentives  to 
progress.  These  ideals,  moreover,  grew  out  of  the  principle, 
which  was  the  ground  both  of  his  theory  and  practice — viz. : 
that  education  comprehended  in  its  training  and  work  the 
three  parts  of  man's  nature — body,  soul  and  spirit.  I  was 
wakened  several  times  on  that  first  night  by  the  tramp  of 
Night  watch-  the  watchman  going  by  on  his  rounds,  and  by  the  strokes  of 
a  bell  at  the  beginning  of  the  successive  hours.  After  a  few 
days  I  grew  accustomed  to  these  sounds,  and  slept  undis- 
turbed by  them.  But,  if  ever  sickness  or  worry  afterwards 
kept  me  awake  at  night,  I  would  hail  with  relief  the  sounds 
of  the  watchman's  steps,  and  count  the  strokes  of  the  bell 
with  the  hope  that  their  number  might  indicate  either  more 
hours  for  sleep  or  fewer  to  pass,  restless  and  uncomfortable, 
before  the  break  of  day.  Many  a  time,  while  a  boy,  did  I 
say  to  myself,  on  ending  a  count  of  twelve  strokes  at  dead  of 
night :  "  There  goes  to-day  and  here  is  to-morrow,"  and  for 
a  while  sober  thoughts,  new  resolves,  and  castle-building 
would  delay  the  coming  on  of  sleep. 
Lavatory  and  The  school-day  began  early — at  five  o'clock  in  summer, 
inspections.  ^^^  ^^  quarter  before  six  in  winter.  A  pleasant-toned,  sonor- 
ous bell  aroused  us,  and  after  eight  minutes  we  were  expected 
to  be  in  the  school-room,  to  stand  on  line  in  an  assigned 
order  and  to  answer  to  our  names.  After  this  roll-call  we 
were  dismissed  to  our  lavatories,  and  twenty  minutes  were 


1846-64.]      LIFE  AND  WORK  AT  ST.  JAMES'S.         331 

given  in  which  to  wash  and  make  ready  for  breakfast.  The 
arrangements  for  these  purposes  were  rude  and  simple.  "We 
went  out  into  the  open  air  and  each  one  in  his  turn  drew  his  own 
basin  of  water  from  a  pump  worked  by  a  w'heel.  There  was 
a  great  hubbub  inside.  Boys  brushing  shoes,  chaffing  and 
bantering  one  anotlier,  disputing  and  teasing,  and  passing  to 
and  fro  with  basins,  made  the  lavatory  a  noisy  and  dis- 
agreeable place,  and  under  no  supervision  was  it  ever  com- 
fortable or  quiet.  We  went  on  line  before  breakfast,  under- 
going a  sort  of  inspection  as  to  the  way  in  which  our  toilet 
duties  had  been  done,  and  were  dismissed  in  sections  to  the 
dining-room.  There  was  a  more  careful  inspection,  of  the 
character  just  described,  immediately  before  dinner,  the  object 
of  both  being  to  form  habits  of  personal  neatness  and  cleanli- 
ness, as  well  as   those  of  punctuality.     Dr.  Kerfoot  con- importance  of 

.  „         pimctuahty. 

sidered  punctuality  a  real  and  important  virtue.  Many  of  the 
minor  regulations  which  the  boys  found  irksome  were  in- 
tended to  train  them  to  habits  of  punctuality.  By  degrees 
several  of  these  special  regulations  were  dropped,  because 
proving  too  burdensome,  and  the  same  results  were  aimed  at 
by  personal  influence  and  example,  and  by  the  formation  of 
a  good  tone  about  such  matters  among  the  boys  themselves. 
These  latter  methods  were,  I  think,  more  effectual  than  the 
former.  Inspections,  roll-calls  and  going  on  line  were  all  by- 
and-by  abandoned,  with  one  exception.  Dr.  Kerfoot's  prac- 
tical temper,  knowledge  of  boys,  and  power  to  instil  a  good 
spirit  among  them,  were  strongly  manifested  in  giving  up 
many  of  the  traditions  and  rules  which  had  been  transplanted 
from  Dr.  Muhlenberg's  school  at  Flushing  to  St.  James's, 
and  which  his  observation  and  experience  finally  pronounced 
unwise  or  unnecessary.  Breakfast  and  chapel,  with  a  short 
interval  between,  filled  up  the  time  until  the  beginning  of 
morning  study,  which  was  at  half-past  seven.  In  summer 
there  was  a  space  of  three-quarters  of  an  hour  given  to  recita- 
tions or  preparation  of  lessons  before  breakfast. 

I  was  placed  in  the  first  preparatory  class,  which  was  the  Teaching  at  st. 
highest  of  the  grammar-school  classes.     The  teaching  at  St. 
James's  was  in  some  subjects  very  good,  and  in  others  poor 


332  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.        [Chap.  XII. 

and  inadequate,  which,  I  suppose,  is  sometimes  the  case  in 
even  the  best  schools.  But  I  recall  as  very  excellent  and 
beneficial  two  features  of  the  instruction  there  which,  I  be- 
lieve, are  now  much  less  common.  One  was  the  constant 
practice  of  the  memory  in  our  learning  by  heart  select  pas- 
sages from  the  Greek  and  Latin  authors  we  were  reading  in 
class,  and  also  in  the  recitation  of  choice  pieces  of  English 
2[ei)writer  exei--  prose  and  poetry.    These  memoriter  exercises  were  rigidly 

cises  and  smitten  ,  z  .  .,,,         ,  ,. 

transiaiiom.  exacted,  and  usually  required  considerable  eflort  to  do  satis- 
factorily, but  they  amply  repaid  one  for  the  labor  and  time 
expended.  They  not  only  strengthened  the  memory,  but 
they  enlarged  one's  vocabulary,  and  cultivated  taste.  A 
second  prominent  feature  of  the  teaching  was  the  frequent 
writing  of  translations  and  abstracts,  which  were  carefully 
reviewed,  and  the  best  of  which  were  read  before  the  class 
and  commented  upon.  We  did  a  great  deal  more  of  these 
two  kinds  of  work  than  boys  are  accustomed  to  do  now, 
partly  because  we  gave  more  time  to  study  and  had  fewer 
diversions,  and  partly  also  because  Dr.  Kerfoot  believed  in 
the  excellence  of  these  pursuits  as  instruments  of  training 
and  cultivating  the  mind.  I  retain  most  grateful  impressions 
concerning  these  characteristic  customs  of  the  teaching  at 
St.  James's. 

Perhaps  the  amount  of  Latin  and  Greek  prose  compo- 
sition done  by  my  class  was  less  than  would  be  done  now 
by  a  set  of  boys  of  the  same  standing.  Yet  these  sub- 
jects were  by  no  means  neglected,  and  Kerchever  Arnold's 
books  were  taught  carefully  and  with  fair  success.  In  many 
respects  the  instruction  was  less  accurate  and  scholarly  than 
is  demanded  now,  and  there  was  a  lack  of  literary  finish  and 
culture  which  I  felt  as  I  grew  older.  The  apparatus  for  help 
was  scant,  far  less  abundant  and  varied  than  it  has  since 
become,  and  we  were  thrown  much  upon  our  own  wits  to 
solve  our  difficulties.  Notwithstanding  many  defects  and  dis- 
advantages, however,  a  certain  common  spirit  and  aim  per- 
vaded all  the  instruction,  and  made  it  produce  some  positive 
and  valuable  results.  The  whole  body  of  teachers  caught  in 
greater  or  less  degree  the  tone  and  method  of  their  head. 


1846-64.]     LIFE  AND  WORK  AT  ST.  JAMES'S.         333 

His  skill  in  questioning  and  explaining,  inspiring,  and,  so  to 
speak,  invigorating  a  class,  were  the  models  admired  and 
followed  by  all. 

The  first  formal  recitation  I  made  to  Dr.  Kerfoot  was  in  Dr.  Kerfoot  in 
Sallust's  Catiline,  when  he  occupied  for  the  day  the  place  '^ '' "■'*''"''"'• 
of  our  regular  instructor.  I  noticed  then  that  he  took  great 
pains  to  make  us  catch  the  meaning  of  the  author ;  that  he 
had  a  great  dislike  of  verbiage  and  inaccuracy,  and  that  the 
simpler  and  clearer  the  language  used  in  translating,  the 
better  he  was  pleased.  The  Anthoniau  diction  was  very  dis- 
tasteful to  him.  Although  he  allowed  the  use  of  some  of 
Anthon's  books,  he  preferred  that  we  should  have  only  a 
Tauchnitz  text,  a  grammar,  good  dictionary  and  manual  of 
classical  antiquities,  and  that  the  difficulties  we  could  not  get 
over  unaided  we  should  bring  to  the  class-room  for  explana- 
tion. Sometimes  when  a  confused  or  unscholarly  boy  had 
given  a  blind  or  absurd  rendering.  Dr.  Kerfoot  would  raise  his 
eyes  and,  with  an  amused  and  kindly  look,  ask :  "  Come,  M 
or  N,  what  do  you  think  Horace,  or  Xenophon,  is  talking 
about  here  ?"  And  often,  by  a  series  of  questions,  he  would 
not  only  lead  the  blunderer  to  a  revised  and  correct  transla- 
tion, but  help  the  whole  class  to  a  clearer  understanding  of 
the  passage.  I  was  greatly  impressed  by  his  translations, 
which,  perhaps,  were  not  what  would  be  called  elegant,  but 
had  a  terse  and  almost  epigrammatic  conciseness,  combined 
with  a  nervous  force  of  expression,  arising  from  his  vivid 
comprehension  of  the  author's  meaning.  He  taught  us  to 
aim  at  the  real  sense  of  a  passage  ;  to  seek  out  what  the 
author  intended  to  say,  and  to  try  to  see  with  his  ej'es,  hear 
with  his  ears,  and  share  his  emotions  and  thoughts.  And  one 
reflex  result  of  such  teaching  was  the  formation  of  the  habit 
of  saying  what  was  in  one's  mind  directly  and  simply,  and 
stating  facts  in  clear  and  definite  language. 

If  I  were  to  sum  up  in  one  word  the  most  characteristic  mark 
left  by  Dr.  Kerfoot's  methods  and  spirit  in  teaching,  I  should 
use  the  term  sincerity  or  genuineness.  I  do  not  mean  to  say 
that  his  scholars  became  eminent  examples  of  the  noble  virtue 
indicated  by  either  name.    But  the  tendency  of  his  instruction 


334  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.  [Chap.  XII. 

was  to  form  in  boys  a  genuine  desire  to  be  sincere.  We  ad- 
His  (iisUke  of  mired,  even  if  we  did  not  imitate,  his  repugnance  to  unreal  talk 
ver  mge.  ^^^  professions.  I  was  several  times  much  mortified  by  the 
severe  pruning  of  epithets  which  my  manuscripts  underwent 
at  Dr.  Kerfoot's  hands.  He  allowed  no  epithets  to  remain 
which  did  not  truthfully  add  to  the  force  of  a  description,  or 
were  not  necessary  to  the  correct  expression  of  an  idea.  The 
"  fine  writing  "  which  now-a-days  adorns  some  newspapers  he 
treated  with  merciless  severity,  and  the  foisting  on  a  great 
author  of  epithets  or  far-fetched  expressions  he  had  not  used 
was  never  permitted  to  go  by  unchallenged.  Our  intellectual 
handling  had  also  other  definite  moral  eft'ects,  which  I  clearly 
recognize  now,  and  there  was  an  atmosphere  of  vigorous  posi- 
tiveness,  strong  love  of  truth  and  unaftected  frankness  pervad- 
ing Dr.  Kerfoot's  class-room  which  invigorated  all  who 
breathed  it,  and  aided  the  growth  of  kindred  tempers  and 
qualities. 

When  I  came  to  recite  to  him  in  Paley  and  Butler,  and, 
later  on,  read  with  him  the  Greek  Testament  and  a  course 
in  Systematic  Divinity,  I  was  often  impressed  by  his  intellect- 
inteiieciuai  ual  power.  We  did  not  merely  learn  the  contents  of  the 
Teaching.  "*  Evidences  and  the  Analogy^  although  even  the  dullest 
in  the  class  got  a  fair  knowledge  of  the  books,  but,  what 
was  far  better,  we  were  taught  the  methods  of  defense 
employed  in  these  great  works,  and  the  principles  underlying 
those  methods.  Again  and  again  were  we  shown  by  happy 
and  forcible  illustrations  that,  while  Butler's  answer  was 
apparently  addressed  to  Deists  only,  and  confined  to  the 
objections  against  Christianity  prevalent  in  his  day,  yet  the 
appeal  to  the  analogy  between  the  facts  of  revealed  religion 
and  those  of  the  order  of  Nature  is  capable  of  very  wide  ex- 
tension, and,  if  used  with  Butler's  caution  and  reserve,  is  a 
most  powerful  and  satisfactory  instrument  of  defense  at  all 
times.  If  Dr.  Kerfoot  had  had  leisure  and  opportunity  to  ex- 
tend his  reading,  which  was  quite  comprehensive  in  English 
authors  on  these  subjects,  to  the  great  writers  of  Germany 
and  France,  he  might  have  become  a  more  brilliant 
teacher,  and  have  been  brought  into  more   direct  contact 


1846-64.]       LIFE  AND  WORK  AT  ST.  JAMES'S.        335 

with  his  fellow- teachers  of  the  same  branches,  but  I  doubt 
whether  his  classes  would  have  reaped  equal  benefit,  or 
whether  he  would  have  accomplished  as  much  good.  In 
stating  positions  opposite  to  those  he  himself  held  he  was 
very  fair,  and  he  would  listen  carefully  and  with  evident 
interest  to  objections  which  had  occurred  to  any  members  of 
the  class,  or  had  been  met  in  their  reading,  and  he  took  pains 
to  show  how  far  an  answer  reached  and  where  it  failed.  In 
fact,  he  had  an  ardent  love  of  truth  along  with  an  intense  and 
enthusiastic  conviction  concerning  those  doctrines  which  the 
Catholic  Church  regards  as  taught  by  divine  revelation.  He 
believed  them  on  what  seemed  to  him  impregnable  grounds, 
and  he  met  the  attacks  made  upon  them  with  unshrinking 
confidence.  After  reading  and  thinking  over  such  a  book  as 
Essays  and  Reviews,  he  would  work  out  for  himself  his  own 
replies.  He  was  very  skilful  and  ready  in  showing  the  flaws 
in  the  logic  of  the  attackers  and  the  inaccuracies  or  contra- 
dictions of  their  statements.  I  do  not  think  he  had  what  is 
called  the  scientific  temper,  but  he  was  wiser  and  more 
candid  than  many  other  theologians,  and  he  never  disputed 
or  regretted  real  advances  in  knowledge.  He  believed  very 
strongly  in  a  revelation  of  God  in  and  through  the  natural 
world  as  well  as  in  the  Gospel,  and  that  the  two  revelations 
mutually  explained  each  other.  But  he  held  that  the  whole 
course  of  the  history  of  physical  research  and  discovery  justi- 
fied him  in  a  steadfast  confidence  that  the  great  facts  of  our 
religion,  those  summed  up  in  the  creeds,  would  neither  be 
changed  nor  weakened  by  what  men  may  find  out  concerning 
the  world  in  which  they  live,  its  past  epochs  or  its  present 
order. 

When  we  began  Paley 's  Evidences,  Dr.Kerfootrequested  each  mustratimis  of 
member  of  the  class  to  write  a  paper  stating  why  he  believed  ''^  method. 
the  Christian  religion.  At  the  next  recitation  we  were  asked 
to  read  our  themes.  I  can  recall  the  scene  now  :  the  Rector's 
study,  where  we  were  sitting  on  benches  and  chairs  beneath 
the  cases  of  books  ;  the  round  table  in  the  middle,  neat,  but 
covered  with  letters  and  papers  ;  Dr.  Kerfoot  standing  behind 
his  rocking-chair  with  his  arms  folded  and  resting  on  the  head- 


336  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.  [Chap.  XII. 

piece,  his  eyes  nearly  closed,  the  mouth  a  little  open,  the  lips 
pushed  out  slightly  and  vibrating,  as  if  certain  tremors  of 
feeling  were  passing  over  them,  his  attitude  and  manner  indi- 
cating attention  and  interest,  but  leaving  us  quite  in  the  dark 
as  to  his  real  opinion  of  our  productions.  Some  of  the  papers 
were  elaborate  and  prepared  with  much  pains  and  care.  One 
of  us  tried  to  show  that  he  believed  the  Christian  religion  on 
historical  evidence.  Another  accepted  it  because  of  its 
wonderful  adaptations  to  man's  moral  needs.  A  third  was 
convinced  by  the  witness  of  his  own  heart  and  mind  to  its 
power.  Miracles  were  to  another  the  ground  of  his  faith  in 
it ;  and  so  on.  At  last  a  member  of  the  class  read  a  short 
and  simple  paper,  stating  that  he  had  always  believed  Chris- 
tianity, but  had  never  before  asked  himself  why  he  accepted 
it  as  a  divine  revelation ;  as  far  as  he  could  see,  he  had  no 
better  reason  to  give  than  that  his  father  and  mother  had 
taught  him  its  truths  and  had  trained  him  to  the  correspond- 
ing habits  and  practices  ;  and  he  ended  with  a  modest  apology 
for  his  inability  to  give  any  other  reasons  for  his  Christian 
faith.  I  saw  at  once  that  Dr.  Kerfoot  was  very  much 
pleased.  He  opened  his  eyes  wide,  and  a  glow  of  sympathy 
and  satisfaction  overspread  his  features.  I  do  not  remember 
tlie  precise  words,  but  the  substance  of  what  he  said  to  us 
was  this:  "You  have  not  understood  my  object  in  setting 
tliis  paper.  I  did  not  wish  you  to  try  to  prove  the  Christian 
religion,  but  I  hoped  that  most  of  you  would  see  that  you 
believed  it  now  mainly  for  the  simple  reason  just  given.  I 
scarcely  need  show  you  that  not  one  of  you  believes  and 
practises  Christianity  because  of  these  elaborate  arguments 
which  you  have  just  been  reading  to  me." 
Summary  of  Later,  in  the  course  on  the  same  subject,  one  of  us  asked  : 
nunTandJa-  "  Suppose  that  Hume  had  lived  in  the  days  of  the  Apostles,  and 
ley's  reply.  j^g^^j  k^Qown  them  to  be  simple,  truthful  men  of  sound  minds,  and 
had  had  their  testimony  to  the  events  recorded  in  the  Gospels 
presented  to  him  with  fair  opportunity  of  cross-examination, 
appeal  to  existing  records,  and  to  the  corroborative  witness  of 
contemporaries,  could  he  or  would  he  have  still  asserted  that 
the  evidence  for   the  miraculous  or  supernatural  facts  was 


1846-64.]      LIFE  AND  WORK  AT  ST.  JAMES'S.        337 

sufficient ;  that  it  was  more  probable  that  the  Apostles  were 
mistaken  or  deceived,  than  that  the  miracles  they  testified  to 
really  happened  ?  "    Dr.  Kerfoot  replied  that  it  was  difficult  to 
tell  what  Hume's  criticism  concerning  such  testimony  would 
have  been  :  probably  his  acute  and  subtle  intellect  would  still 
have  found  flaws  or  defects  ;  but  we  must  not  forget  that  the 
strong  point  of  Hume's  objections  to  miracles  is  that  no  such 
evidence  as  you  have  described  has  ever  been  oflered  in  favor 
of  any  asserted  miracle  ;  that  in  no  case  have  the  requisite  pre- 
cautions and  conditions  ordinarily  regarded  as  necessary  in 
establishing  truth  been  observed ;  that  there  never  has  been 
any  opportunity  of  sifting  the  evidence,  of  cross-examining 
living  witnesses,  nor  any  sufficient  appeal  to  contemporaries. 
Paley's  answer  was  an  attempt  to  meet  Hume's  objection  by 
showing  that  we  had  abundant  evidence  as  to  the  conduct  of 
the  Apostles  and  first  Christians — as  to  what  they  preached 
and  practised,  and  as  to  the  impression  they  made  upon  the 
world  by  their  behavior  under  persecution,  torture,  and  in  the 
torments  of  cruel  deaths.    Their  opportunities  for  knowing 
the   truth  of  the  events   to  which  they  bore  witness  were 
the  very  best.     It  seems   incredible  that  they  could  have 
been  deluded  or  deceived.     The  conduct  of  these  men  was 
exactly  such  as  we  should  expect  from  upright  persons  who 
had  really  seen  the  events   they  described,  and  knew  the 
truth  of  what  they  asserted.    It  was  impossible  that  impostors 
or  hypocrites  should  behave  as  we  know  the  Apostles  and 
first  Christians  did  behave.     The  world  has  ample  and  suffi- 
cient testimony  as  to  the  sincerity,  consistency  and  unwaver- 
ing persistence  of  the  witnesses  to  the  facts  of  the  Gospel 
history.    If  the  Gospel  story  is  untrue,  then  the  conduct  of 
the  Apostles  and  first  Christians  is  as  new  and  inexplicable  a 
phenomenon,  as  much  an  exception  to  the  ordinary  course  of 
nature,  and  in  its  own  plane  of  facts  a  marvel  of  the  same 
kind  as  tlie  supernatural  events  in  the  life  of  our  Lord.    The 
hypotheses  of  credulity,  delusion  or  imposture  are  untenable. 
They  do  not  account  for  the  phenomena. 

Of  course,  I  am  giving  only  a  summary  of  what  was  said.  Success  in  teach- 
but  the   examples  illustrate  the    fairness  of   Dr.  Kerfoot's  ^^Aimiogy." 


338  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.  [Chap.  XII. 

teaching,  and  the  way  in  which  he  aroused  his  pupils'  minds. 
In  reciting  the  Analogy^  after  we  had  given  an  analysis  of  the 
chapter  or  subject  which  was  to  occupy  the  hour,  Dr.  Kerfoot 
would  become,  as  it  were,  himself  the  objector,  not  only 
repeating  the  cavils  and  difficulties  in  Butler's  pages,  but 
stating  them  in  their  modern  form  and  adding  the  later, 
prominent,  popular  ones.  He  would  criticise  our  answers, 
show  where  they  failed  to  represent  Butler's  argument,  point 
out  their  weakness  or  double-edgedness,  and  thus  train  us,  by 
methods  not  unlike  those  of  Socrates,  to  careful  habits  of 
thinking  and  observation,  and  to  a  certain  just  moderation  of 
expression.  Once,  when  we  were  on  the  subject  of  fatalism, 
the  question  was  put  to  him ;  If  the  principles  of  the  fatalist 
be  true,  ought  not  a  jury  in  justice  to  acquit  a  murderer? 
He  answered  :  "■  It  would  seem  as  if  then  equity  must  require 
that  every  criminal  should  be  acquitted.  Notwithstanding, 
you  would  find  the  course  of  justice  very  much  the  same  as 
now.  While  the  judge  would  allow  the  prisoner's  plea — that 
he  could  not  help  doing  what  he  did — he  would  also  assert 
that  fate  bound  society  to  protect  itself  against  acts  injurious 
to  or  destructive  of  its  well-being,  and  to  punish  the  perpe- 
trator of  such  acts ;  and  therefore  fate  allowed  the  criminal 
no  escape.  He  must  sufl'er  death,  stripes,  imprisonment  or 
fine,  as  the  necessary  consequence  of  his  deeds." 
Nomiday  ser-  I  must  hasten  from  the  class-room.  At  noon  the  morn- 
ing's work  closed,  and  at  ten  minutes  past  twelve  a  brief 
service  was  held  in  the  chapel,  consisting  of  the  Lord's 
Prayer,  a  Psalm  from  the  Psalter,  a  Canticle,  which  was 
ordinarily  either  five  consecutive  verses  from  the  nineteenth 
Psalm,  beginning  with  the  seventh,  or  the  one  hundred  and 
twenty-first  Psalm,  the  versicles  in  the  Confirmation  Office, 
and  three  or  four  appropriate  collects.  This  service  was 
always  voluntary,  and  was  usually  attended  by  the  older 
members  of  the  household,  communicants,  and  by  such  boys 
as  had  joined  the  Confirmation  classes,  or  intended  to  join 
them.  Dr.  Kerfoot  was  always  present,  and  frequently  con- 
ducted the  service  himself.  He  often  spoke  of  it  as  a  great 
rest  and  refreshment  to  body  and  mind.    He  recommended 


vice. 


1846-64.]      LIFE  AND  WORK  AT  ST.  JAMES'S.  339 

boys  and  teachers  to  attend,  on  the  ground  that  the  service 
carried  us  away  from  the  frets  and  anxieties  of  the  day,  2in^  its  admntageg. 
brought  to  the  wearied,  ruffled  or  tempted  heart  comforting 
thoughts  of  God's  presence,  His  watchful  love  and  care.  His 
sustaining  grace  and  strength.  One  easily  fell  into  the  habit 
of  attending  this  noon  chapel,  and  while  outdoor  sports  or 
preparations  of  lessons  were  often  more  attractive,  yet  expe- 
rience taught  me  that  this  short  act  of  worship  was  beneficial 
to  the  individuals  who  availed  themselves  of  it,  and  that  there 
were  good  reasons  for  establishing  and  keeping  it  up. 

Dinner  followed  close  after  the  service,  and  usually  lasted 
half  an  hour.  As  soon  as  it  was  finished  we  assembled  on 
line  to  hear  the  reports  for  the  day  read,  and  those  who  were 
not  detained  by  tasks  or  penalties  had  then  an  hour  or  two 
for  recreation.  The  discipline  at  St.  James's  was  thought  by  current  objec- 
certam  persons  to  be  severe  ;  some  said  too  severe.  It  was  af"/il°jl,g^ 
criticised  as  too  exacting,  having  too  much  supervision  and 
too  many  regulations.  It  made  too  scant  allowance  for  the 
follies  of  youth,  and  visited  peccadilloes  as  mortal  sins.  The 
heavy  penalties  of  expulsion  or  dismissal  were  said  to  be  in- 
flicted too  frequently,  and  for  too  light  causes.  That  there 
was  some  ground  for  this  criticism  in  the  first  years  of  the 
College's  history,  is  shown  by  the  modifications  and  relaxations 
which  the  discipline  underwent  from  time  to  time.  I  am  sure 
that  great  additional  improvements  would  have  been  made 
had  the  project  of  removal  to  the  neighborhood  of  Baltimore 
been  carried  out.  At  St.  James's  there  were  also  practical 
difficulties  which  arose  from  the  unfortunate  union  of  College 
and  grammar  school  in  one  community,  very  closely  thrown 
together  by  sharing  the  same  refectory,  chapel  and  play- 
grounds, and  constantly  commingling  in  the  most  intimate 
association.  The  attempt  was  made  to  give  the  older 
members  of  the  household  a  suitable  freedom,  and  to  adapt 
the  regulations  to  their  age  and  standing ;  but  it  was  inevitable 
that  restrictions  and  punishments,  and  methods  of  manage- 
ment thought  necessary  for  young  boys,  should  be  extended  to 
the  mature  and  advanced.  The  result  was  a  great  deal  of 
friction  and  fretting,  and  a  certain  justifiable  feeling  on  the 


340  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.         [Chap.  XII. 

part  of  the  collegians  that  they  were  often  treated  too  much 
like  grammar-school  boys.  The  difficulties  of  the  case  were 
really  very  hard  to  surmount.  Dr.  Kerfoot  not  only  clearly 
saw  them,  but  was  constantly  trying  to  solve  them  in  the 
direction  of  more  liberal  regulations.  But,  as  long  as  College 
and  grammar  school  were  under  one  roof,  as  it  were,  it  was 
impossible  to  attain  entirely  satisfactory  results. 

The  discipline  at  St.  James's  was  at  first,  in  many  respects, 
like  that  of  the  best  of  the  great  Roman  Catholic  schools,  with, 
however,  striking  distinctions  as  to  methods  of  supervision,  as 
to  the  kinds  of  punishment,  and  as  to  religious  training.  I  do  not 
suppose  that  this  resemblance  will  be  considered  as  necessarily 
any  disparagement  or  blemish,  unless  by  bigoted  or  ignorant 
^^•^^  ^^^^^  persons.  The  aim  of  the  government  at  St.  James's  was 
discipline,  the  same  in  its  principal  objects  as  that  in  all  schools  conducted 
by  capable  and  conscientious  men — namely,  the  production  of 
the  spirit  of  obedience,  tlie  regulation  of  tempers  natm-ally 
boisterous  and  impatient,  the  formation  of  habits  of  industry, 
order,  neatness  and  punctuality,  the  control  of  appetites  and 
passions  about  to  burst  into  strength  with  the  development 
of  the  young  body,  and  the  nurture  and  establishment  of  the 
virtues  of  truth,  reverence,  purity,  and  so  on.  But  these 
results  may  be  sought  in  very  different  ways.  Highly 
religious  men,  anxious  for  the  true  welfare  of  their  pupils, 
are  apt  to  err  by  doing  too  much.  Their  solicitude  to  shut 
out  evil  and  to  stimulate  good  influences  often  leads  them  to 
extend  their  rules  to  the  occupations  and  pursuits  of  almost 
ever}'  hour,  to  give  directions  concerning  each  particular  of 
conduct,  and  to  exercise  too  constant  and  minute  supervision. 
And,  quite  naturally,  they  look  too  gravely  upon  a  boy's 
breaches  of  order,  resistance  to  authority,  faults  or  vicious 
tendencies,  and  treat  them  with  a  severit}^  which  sometimes 
is  as  likely  to  injure  as  to  help. 

One  of  my  boy  companions  at  St.  James's,  who  did  not 
like  the  place,  told  me  that  his  great  objection  was  that 
"  they  tried  too  hard  to  make  him  good,  and  did  not  leave 
him  any  choice  in  the  matter."  But,  if  we  were  gov- 
erned  too   much,    we  were    also    governed   by    a   warm- 


1846-64.]       LIFE  AND  WORK  AT  ST.  JAMES'S.        341 

hearted,  affectionate  and  sympathetic  man.  If  he  exacted 
obedience  rigorously,  repressed  vicious  tendencies  severely, 
he  also  knew  how  to  say  the  wise  and  loving  word  in 
private,  to  touch  a  boy's  conscience,  and  to  minister  sym- 
pathy and  wholesome  help. 

The  punishments  were  never  degrading  or  cruel.  They  •^""'*^""*''*'''- 
generally  consisted  of  impositions  of  lines  of  Virgil  to 
be  copied,  and  these  impositions  were  not  excessive.  For 
many  misdemeanors,  such  as  lateness,  absence  from  line, 
and  so  on,  only  disorder  marks  were  given,  and,  except 
in  their  effect  on  standing  and  honors,  these  brought  no 
other  penalty,  unless  they  exceeded  a  certain  number. 
Whipping  was  quite  infrequent  from  the  first,  and  was  finally 
given  up  altogether.  I  need  hardly  say  that  it  was  only 
used  in  the  grammar  school.  There  was  one  short  period 
during  which  whippings  were  both  abundant  and  severe, 
according  to  our  American  standards,  although  I  have  no 
doubt  but  that  a  boy  at  Eton  or  Harrow  would  have  called 
the  punishment  light.  But  in  this  instance  the  stripes  were 
not  administered  by  Dr.  Kerfoot,  nor  was  this  mode  of 
punishment  in  accordance  with  his  usual  practice.  Only  in 
special  and  rare  cases  did  he  approve  of  its  employment. 
There  was  for  a  while  a  lock-up,  where  boys  considered 
extreme  offenders  were  kept  secluded  from  their  fellows  and 
afflicted  with  a  very  plain  diet.  But  no  one  spent  more  than 
a  few  hours  there,  and  in  process  of  time  it  was  done  away. 
Sometimes  a  boy  was  put "  on  bounds,"  as  it  was  called — that 
is,  was  forbidden  to  leave  the  College  premises  for  a  certain 
time.  There  was,  for  two  or  three  years,  a  side  table  in  the 
dining-room,  at  which  offenders  were  obliged  to  sit  during 
meals,  and  to  satisfy  their  appetites  with  bread  and  water. 
This  punishment  was  very  obnoxious  to  the  boys  on  account 
of  its  publicity,  and  also  because  of  its  tantalizing  character, 
and  I  am  glad  to  add  that  it  soon  disappeared.  I  know  that 
Dr.  Kerfoot  thought  it  a  mistake  to  make  our  meal-times 
occasions  of  punishment.  And  although  he  could  not  always 
do  as  lie  preferred,  yet  his  opinion  was  that  the  greatest  pains 
should  be   taken  to  keep  out  the  disagreeable  features  of 


342  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.  [Chap.  XII. 

school-life  from  both  chapel  and  refectory.  Dismissals  and 
expulsions  were  resorted  to  in  cases  of  gross  insubordination, 
drinking  or  immorality.  They  were  by  no  means  so  frequent 
in  the  later  years  of  my  i-esidence  at  St.  James's  as  at  the  first. 
Dr.  Kerfoot's      In  fact,  as  the  result  of  Dr.  Kerfoot's  indefatigable  efforts, 

knowledge  of 

boys  and  in-  the  tone  of  the  bo}"s  steadily  miproved ;  more  and  more 
'themf^  '  kindly  relations  grew  up  between  them  and  their  teachers, 
and  strong  attachments  to  him  and  to  the  school  over  which 
he  ruled,  exerted  in  each  succeeding  year  a  larger  influence 
on  the  temper  and  spirit  of  the  community.  He  had  a 
remarkable  insight  into  character  and  motive,  and  a  common 
saying  among  the  boys  credited  him  with  the  power  of  always 
getting  out  the  truth  even  from  the  most  reserved  or  ill- 
disposed.  He  possessed  also  a  genuine  talent  of  humor,  and 
this  often  enabled  him  to  make  boys  see  their  follies  in  their 
true  light ;  and  thus,  by  a  happy  descriptive  phrase,  or  by  an 
appeal  to  their  sense  of  propriety,  or  by  invoking  their  dread 
of  appearing  ridiculous,  he  would  win  them  to  right  courses 
and  to  cheerful  submission.  In  after  years,  when  I  mj'self 
was  an  instructor,  and  knew  Dr.  Kerfoot  intimately,  I  never 
heard  him  use  sarcastic  language  or  apply  harsh  names  or 
epithets  even  to  boys  who  had  tried  his  patience  greatly.  The 
better  I  understood  his  motives,  and  his  spirit  and  aim  in 
dealing  with  boys,  the  stronger  became  my  confidence  not 
only  in  his  sincerity  and  fair-mindedness,  but  also  in  his 
capacity  and  good  sense.  At  the  weekly  meeting  in  which 
the  boys'  conduct  was  reviewed,  he  required  from  the  teachers 
exact  accounts  of  such  facts  as  bore  upon  any  case  of  ill- 
behavior  ;  he  constantly  deprecated  the  use  of  impatient  and 
severe  language,  and  would  temper  and  quiet  rash  judgment 
or  anger  by  wise  reminders  of  the  frailty  common  to  all,  or 
of  the  youth  of  the  oftenders,  or  by  the  relation  of  some  inci- 
dent in  his  own  personal  experience  bearing  upon  the  par- 
ticular instance.  He  could  be  very  stern  and  peremptory 
when  he  thought  that  the  order  or  morals  of  the  community 
demanded  severity,  but  he  could  also  be  tender,  for- 
giving and  patient  when  that  seemed  to  him  the  better 
way. 


1846-64.]       LIFE  AND  WORK  AT  ST.  JAMES'S.        343 

It  is  easy  for  outsiders  to  criticise  and  censure  the  dis- 
cipline and  management  of  a  large  community  of  boys. 
It  is  easy  to  frame  theories  of  moral  training  which  shall 
produce  the  most  perfect  results  simply  by  persuasion  and 
influence  and  a  suitable  environment.  It  is  always  easy  to 
decide  for  others  what  they  should  do  or  ought  to  leave 
undone  in  cases  where  we  ourselves  have  no  responsibility. 
Actual  experience  shows  the  many  difficulties  and  ?iXi^\Qi\Qs  Criterion  of  Dr. 
which  surround  the  government  of  boys,  and  those  who  have  cess. 
had  such  experience  will  be  slow  to  condemn,  on  account  of 
failures  or  mistakes,  good  and  capable  men  who  have  been 
entrusted  with  this  government.  We  have  a  right  to  ask. 
What,  on  the  whole,  was  the  result  of  their  methods  of  training 
and  discipline  ?  Did  they  send  forth  a  fair  proportion  of  the 
boys  put  under  them  furnished  with  solid  acquirements,  with 
virtuous  characters,  and  with  the  requisite  preparation  for 
good  and  useful  living  ?  Did  they  leave  upon  their  pupils  an 
impress  of  high  principle,  just  dealing,  fear  of  God  and 
honest  love  of  men  ?  And  when  the  answer  to  these 
inquiries  is  affirmative,  although  with  some  qualifications, 
we  should  accord  to  such  instructors  of  youth  hearty  approval 
and  thankful  commendation.  Dr.  Kerfoot's  career  at  St. 
James's  will  stand  the  test  of  these  inquiries ;  and  I  am  con- 
fident that,  during  his  twenty-three  years'  life  and  work  there, 
his  teaching,  influence  and  rule  were  in  a  remarkable  degree 
the  source  of  large  and  permanent  blessing  to  the  majority  of 
his  pupils.  There  are  many  yet  alive  to  whom  his  name  and 
memory  are  precious  because  of  the  benefits  which  they  owe 
to  him  as  rector  of  St.  James's. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

Part  Second. 

(By  the  Rev.  Joseph  H.  Coit,  M.  A.) 

KECOLLECTIONS,   ETC. — CONTINUED. 

'■'Voluntary     I  tave  described  the  main  events  of  my  first  day  at  St. 

meetings."  j^nies's,  and  have  made  them  the  occasions  for  an  account  of 
Dr.  Kerfoot  as  an  instructor  of  youth.  But  there  were  some 
special  features  of  the  St.  James's  life  which  deserve  par- 
ticular mention.  On  Friday,  after  evening  prayers,  a  "volun- 
tary meeting"  was  held  for  familiar  and  particular  teaching 
with  regard  to  our  faults,  temptations  and  duties  as  school- 
boys. These  meetings  were  largely  attended  and  much  liked. 
They  were  very  informal.  There  was  usually  no  religious 
service  of  any  sort  accompanying  them.  Dr.  Kerfoot  left  his 
seat  among  the  boys  and  went  to  the  reading-desk  and  talked 
to  us  as  informally  as  a  father  would  to  his  children.  The 
advice  was  plain  and  direct,  and  he  gave  such  examples  as 
we  could  appreciate,  to  show  us  how  to  apply  it.  Very  often 
he  would  read  a  pertinent  passage  from  some  memoir  or 
history,  or  he  would  take  some  public  event  or  character  and 
draw  lessons  which  sank  deep  into  our  memories.  The  range 
of  subjects  was  large,  and  comprehended  manners,  the  great 
as  well  as  petty  virtues,  habits,  false  notions,  maxims,  faults 
and  vices.  Many  a  boy  began  his  good  start  with  one  of  these 
talks.  Almost  all  owed  to  them  the  invigoration  of  their 
eilbrts  to  improve,  and  the  instruction  and  quickening  of  their 
consciences. 
Method  of  deal-  Soon  after  my  coming,  on  one  Friday  evening,  the  whole 
fanUy^^'°'  school  were  requested  to  remain  after  the  service.  When 
all   except  the    boys    had    retired.   Dr.  Kerfoot  rose    and 


1846-64.]        LIFE  AND  WORK  AT  ST.  JAMES'S.        345 

said  that  he  wished  to  speak  to  them,  not  as  Rector,  but  as 
pastor  and  friend,  on  the  habit  of  profane  swearing.  He 
knew  that  many  had  no  such  habit,  and  that  others  were 
trying  hard  to  break  off  from  it.  He  was  sure  that  many  used 
profane  words  and  expressions  without  realizing  their  mean- 
ing, and  witliout  intending  to  be  irreverent  or  blasphemous. 
He  had  no  doubt  that  a  great  many  never  erred  in  this 
respect  except  in  moments  of  anger  and  excitement,  and 
were  afterwards  ashamed  of  their  language ;  and  he  was 
aware  how  hard  it  was  to  stop  such  a  habit  wlien  it  had  been 
long  indulged.  And  then  he  added  a  few  simple  and  grave 
remarks  about  profane  swearing,  its  influence  on  the  manners, 
character  and  religion  of  one  who  practised  it.  After  quoting 
the  sayings  of  two  or  three  great  men,  he  appealed  to  us 
in  a  most  tender  way  to  make  a  real  and  sincere  effort  to 
abstain  from  it  ourselves  and  to  help  others  to  abstain  also. 
He  concluded  by  asking  all,  without  exception,  to  write  him 
a  note  telling  him  as  frankly  and  fully  as  they  could  whether 
they  used  profane  language,  and  to  what  extent.  These 
notes  would  be  treated  as  strictly  private ;  he  would  con- 
sider them  to  be  addressed  to  him  as  their  pastor,  and 
he  would  take  the  earliest  occasion  to  see  the  writers,  to 
advise  and  help  them  in  every  way  in  his  power.  I  re- 
member it  was  the  current  report  at  that  time  that  every 
boy  complied  with  this  request,  and  with  perfect  frank- 
ness and  confidence.  And  although  profane  swearing  was 
by  no  means  killed  out  from  among  us  by  Dr.  Kerfoot's 
efforts,  yet  the  practice  was  greatly  diminished  and  a  good 
moral  effect  was  evidently  exerted  on  the  whole  school. 
One  of  these  notes,  written  in  1842,  by  a  boy  who,  as  a 
man,  is  one  of  the  most  upright  gentlemen  I  have  had  the 
privilege  of  knowing,  has  come  into  my  hands.  I  venture  to 
transcribe  it  here  because,  while  it  shows  some  misconcep- 
tion and  over-sensitiveness,  it  also  shows  the  simple  confi- 
dence with  which  Dr.  Kerfoot  had  inspired  a  young  boy  : 

St.  James's  Hall,  1842. 
Dear  Sir, — Since  I  spoke  to  you  last  I  think  I  have  not 
used  any  profane  words,  except  once  I  said  something  was 


346  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.  [Chap.  XII. 

thundering  hard.  I  hope  that  the  next  time  I  write  to  you  I 
shall  not  have  said  anything  that  is  wrong  ;  and  if  you  should 
see  me  do  wrong,  please  do  not  forget  to  put  me  in  mind  of 
it,  and  I  shall  try  to  guard  against  it  as  much  as  I  can. 
Good-bye,  sir.    Yours,  &c., 


infivence  <=,r-         But  it  was  in  our  private  talks  with  Dr.  Kerfoot  m  his  study 

€i-hcl  by  pri  Kite     ,,  .■,■,-,  ,,•  ii  n., 

counsels  and  that  we  were  most  closely  drawn  to  him,  and  learned  to  know 
interviews.  ^^^  trust  him.  There  he  met  the  boy  as  his  friend,  and 
counselled  and  warned  him  as  a  father.  Many  of  these 
interviews  were  closed  by  a  short  prayer,  always  containing 
special  petitions  and  invoking  the  divine  blessing  and  guidance 
for  the  boy.  My  cheeks  are  almost  ready  to  flush  to-day  as 
I  recall  his  grave,  yet  kind,  rebuke  of  a  habit  which,  had  I 
persisted  in  it,  would  have  proved  most  injurious,  although 
in  its  beginning  but  a  trivial  fault.  The  kind  words  of  trust 
and  encouragement,  the  bright,  affectionate  smile  with  which 
he  dismissed  me,  helped  to  make  his  wholesome  counsel 
effectual.  When  a  boy  went  to  him  with  a  burdened  con- 
science, or  doubtful  as  to  duty,  there  were  no  limits  to  his 
patience,  tenderness  and  sympathy  ;  and  his  strong  good 
sense,  as  well  as  upright  and  devout  temper,  made  him  in 
such  cases  the  best  of  advisers  and  friends. 
Lackofoppoi--     ^t  Trinity  College,  during  the  short  time  Dr.  Kerfoot  was 

tunily  as  Pres-  •'  °   '  ° 

identof  Trbi-  President,  he  had  not  sufficient  opportunity  to  show  in  that  new 
ly  0  ege.  ^^^^  j^.^  remarkable  powers  for  governing  young  men  and  win- 
ning their  affection  and  confidence.  He  began  his  life  there 
worn  out  and  exhausted  by  the  protracted  cares  and  anxieties 
which  had  come  upon  him  during  the  Civil  War.  He  found 
himself,  tired  and  depressed,  in  a  position  where  he  had,  as 
it  were,  to  drop  or  transform  his  old  tactics,  invent  or  take 
up  new  ones,  and  to  meet  familiar  problems  of  college  govern- 
ment by  methods  strange  to  his  experience.  If  he  had  con- 
tinued several  years  at  Trinity,  I  have  no  doubt  but  that 
he  would  have  fulfilled  the  largest  hopes  of  the  wise  and 
good  men  who  called  him  there.  He  would  have  amply 
justified  their  selection  by  a  judicious  and  kindly  government 


1846-64.]       LIFE  AND  ^VORK  AT  ST.  JAMES'S.        347 

of  the  College,  a  thorough,  successful  and  notable  conduct  of 
his  own  department  of  instruction,  and  by  showing  that  his 
power  to  influence  and  to  win  the  love  of  }■  oung  men  had  not 
lost  its  vigor  by  his  transfer  from  Maryland  to  Connecticut. 

Besides  exerting  through  the  voluntary  meetings  and  character  of  his 
private  interviews  a  very  great  influence  on  individuals  and  boys. 
on  the  general  tone.  Dr.  Kerfoot  was  a  most  eft'ective  preacher 
to  boys.  It  was  his  usual  practice  to  deliver  a  written 
sermon  Sunday  morning.  Occasionally  at  the  evening 
service  he  would  preach  extempore,  or  read  a  discourse  by 
some  celebrated  divine.  If  the  tests  of  good  preaching  are, 
making  the  audience  attentive  and  interested,  imprinting  on 
their  hearts  and  memories  instructions  and  persuasions, 
leading  them  to  give  up  certain  courses  and  to  pursue  other 
different  ones,  then  Dr.  Kerfoot  was  an  able  and  successful 
preacher  in  the  College  chapel.  He  employed  very  little  style  and  man- 
rhetorical  art,  did  not  often  aim  at  smooth  or  graceful  diction,  "*'■ 
and  was  most  sparing  in  the  use  of  poetical  or  literary  orna- 
ment and  quotation.  But  he  wrote  with  the  glow  of  strong 
conviction,  and  his  matter  and  manner  were  permeated  by 
an  evident  sincerity  and  a  warm  desire  to  do  good.  His 
statements  of  truth  and  duty  were  so  simple  and  direct  as  to 
be  very  striking  ;  the  language  was  clear  and  often  singularly 
felicitous  ;  the  illustrations  and  examples  were  most  perti- 
nent, and  his  appeals  and  warnings  fell  upon  our  hearts  with 
power  to  stir  up  the  most  sluggish  and  hidden  depths.  His 
manner  and  style  were  authoritative,  because  he  believed 
himself  to  be  teaching  not  human  opinions,  but  divine  truth, 
to  be  speaking  not  in  his  own  name  and  behalf,  but  with  a 
commission  from  our  Lord  Himself,  He  was  therefore  always 
dignified,  reverent  and  earnest.  He  had  a  great  gift  for  ex- 
pository teaching,  and  I  still  retain  distinct  recollections  of 
sermons  in  which  the  Epistle  or  Gospel  for  the  day,  or  diflicult 
and  obscure  passages  of  Holy  Scripture,  were  the  subjects.  I 
have  heard  many  great  and  eminent  preachers,  both  abroad 
and  at  home,  but  I  remember  no  sermons  so  vividly  as  I  do 
many  of  Dr.  Kerfoot's. 

Can  I  ever  forget  the  first  Confirmation  at  which  I  was 


348  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.  [Chap.  XII. 

Confii-mation me%en.t  in  the  chapel?    Bishop  Whittinsiham  was  unahle 
sermon.  '■  ,  .•,-,,  7 

to  preach.     Our  curiosity  had  been  greatly  excited  by  the 

stones  we  had  heard  of  him,  and  our  interest  had  been 
'stimulated  to  a  high  pitch  by  the  glimpses  we  had  caught 
of  his  tall  figure,  long,  black  hair,  brilliant  eyes  and  strik- 
ing face.  We  saw,  therefore,  it  must  be  owned,  with 
disappointment,  Dr.  Kerfoot  go  to  the  pulpit.  There  had 
been  much  trying  and  disagreeable  discipline  during  the 
year.  A  bad  tone  had  been  prevalent ;  some  boys  who  ought 
to  have  done  well  had  caused  great  anxiety;  and  as  one 
consequence  of  this  state  of  things  the  class  for  Confirma- 
tion was  very  small.  Although  I  was  too  j'oung  to  know 
the  particular  reasons,  still  I  was  conscious  that  a  good 
deal  of  restlessness  and  dissatisfaction  existed.  Dr.  Ker- 
foot's  text  was  from  the  40th  Psalm,  verses  11,  12  and 
13.  The  chief  points  were  suggested  by  the  words:  "I 
have  not  kept  back  Thy  loving  mercy  and  truth  from  the  great 
congregation,  0  Lord!  and  that  Thou  knowest,"  and  he 
seemed  inspired  to  say  the  things  most  needed  and  helpful. 
How  self-reproached  some  of  us  felt  as  he  contrasted  a  sincere 
and  courageous  service  of  God  with  a  time-serving  or  half- 
hearted profession !  How  conscience-stricken  were  some 
when  he  pointed  out  what  numerous  opportunities,  what 
manifold  ways,  existed  through  which  we  could  make  known 
God's  loving  mercy  and  truth  to  the  great  congregation  !  And 
had  we  availed  ourselves  of  them?  Could  we  appeal  with 
the  Psalmist's  confidence  to  the  Searcher  of  hearts,  and  call 
upon  Him  to  witness  to  the  loyalty,  the  openness  and 
sincerity  of  our  obedience  and  service?  Did  we,  who  owed 
to  God  so  much,  and  for  whom  He  was  doing  so  much,  make 
those  returns  of  glad  confession  and  devotion  which  were  due 
to  Him  from  us  ?  And  with  awed  hearts  we  listened  to  his 
solemn  appeal  not  to  choose  God's  service  lightly,  not  to 
think  that  the  sacrifice  of  tlie  lips  or  occasional  acts  of 
worship  and  conformity  to  His  will  could  be  accepted  as  the 
fulfilment  of  our  duty.  The  standard  of  a  true  and  blessed 
service  was  impliedly  set  up  in  the  Psalmist's  words :  such 
sincere  and  earnest  devotion,  such  grateful  and  fearless  con- 


1846-64.]        LIFE  AND  WORK  AT  ST.  JAMES'S.       349 

fession  of  faith  in  God  as  could  bear  tlie  judgment  of  Him 
who  trieth  the  reins  and  thoughts,  aud  enable  us  to  call  with 
confidence,  "O  Lord!  Thou  knowest!"  He  closed  with  a 
simple  and  vivid  description  of  the  peace,  happiness  and 
strength  which  an  avowed  and  consistent  service  of  God 
brings  throughout  life. 

Another  very  striking  sermon  was  on  the  ministry  as  .-^iermon  on  the 
a  profession  atlording  the  fullest  scope  to  great  talents,  '"''"•*''"^' 
and  satisfying  the  highest  ambitions.  The  text  was:  "The 
Good  Shepherd  giveth  His  life  for  the  sheep."  The  drift 
of  the  sermon  was  caught  from  these  words.  It  was 
because  the  work  of  the  ministry,  if  truly  done,  demanded 
self-sacriiice  even  unto  death,  self-devotion  without  re- 
serve, and  because  it  comprehended  the  greatest  needs  and 
sorrows  of  humanit}',  that  it  attracted  the  most  gifted  and 
large-hearted  men,  as  well  as  the  humble  and  earnest  servants 
of  God.  The  ministry  had  also  magnificent  rewards,  in  the 
power  and  influence  which  it  could  confer,  in  the  union  of 
the  noblest  characters  for  common  ends  which  it  wrought,  in 
the  elevation  of  thoughts  and  motives  which  it  inspired,  and 
in  the  manifold  blessings  which  it  could  dispense.  These 
rewards  were  worthy  to  be  compared  with  those  of  any  other 
calling  or  profession. 

It  is  in  vain  for  me,  however,  to  try  to  show  how  moving, 
how  impressive,  these  and  manj-  others  of  his  sermons  were, 
for  the  associations  of  time  and  place,  and  the  powerful  per- 
sonality of  the  speaker,  have  all  passed  away ;  but  the  bread 
which  he  cast  upon  the  waters,  on  the  hearts  of  restless, 
frivolous  youths,  has  many,  many  times  been  found,  even 
after  long,  despairing  days,  and  has  proved  the  seed  of  eternal 
life,  the  inspiration  of  good  works,  and  the  nourishment  of 
honorable  and  useful  careers. 

Sunday  was,  on  the  whole,  a  pleasant  day  at  St.  James's.  Sunday  order 
The  services  were  short  aud  auiuiated,  the  sacred  lessons 
were  interesting,  although  they  would  be  considered  long 
now-a-days.  We  were  allowed  to  take  walks,  encouraged  to 
write  home-letters,  were  provided  with  suitable  books,  such 
as  Miss  Yonge's  and  Miss  Sewell's  stories,  and  only  forbidden 


350 


LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT. 


[Chap.  XII. 


to  read  newspapers  and  the  common  novels.  Histories  and 
travels  were  not  prohibited,  although  we  were  strongly 
advised  to  confine  ourselves  to  the  books  in  what  was  called 
the  Sunday  Library.  Even  preparations  for  the  next  day's 
lessons  were  tolerated.  Such  work,  however,  was  always  com- 
mented upon  as  inconsistent  with  the  purpose  of  the  day.  In 
the  evening  the  boys  walked  about  the  study-halls  conversing 
with  each  other  and  with  the  teachers,  and  the  day  closed  with 
a  gathering  in  a  large  common  room  in  the  Ringgold  house, 
where  we  sang  the  old  hymn,  "Now  the  day  is  past  and 
gone,"  repeated  the  Lord's  Prayer,  and  had  invoked  upon 
us  Israel's  threefold  blessing,'  Then,  in  token  of  our  good- 
will, bidding  good-night,  we  shook  hands  with  the  Rector, 
teachers,  ladies  and  visitors  present,  and  with  each  other, 
and  went  off  tired,  but  full  of  good  feeling  and  merriment,  to 
our  dormitories  and  rooms. 
Were  there  too  I  have  heard  it  objected  against  St.  James's  that  there  were 
"Irviies?^^^"^  too  many  religious  services,  and  that  such  a  system  is  a  kind  of 
hot-house  training  and  forcing,  producing  unnatural  results.  It 


I  [The  benediction  was  that 
found  in  Numbers  vi.  24-26. 
The  following  is  a  copy  of  the 
hymn  —  a  translation  from  a 
well-known  I-atin  original, 
"  Grates  peracto  jam  die."  It  was 
taken  by  the  Rev.  D.  E.  Lyman 
from  a  little  volume,  "  By  the 
Author  of  the  Cathedral,"  pub- 
lished at  Oxford  in  1839,  entitled, 
Hy  mns  fro  m  t  h  e  Parisian 
Breviary : 

SUNDAY  EVENING  HYMN. 
Now  the  day  is  past  and  gone, 

Holy  God,  we  bow  to  Thee. 
Again,  as  nightly  shades  come  on. 

To  Thy  sheltering  side  we  flee. 

For  all  the  ills  this  day  hath  done 
Let  our  bitter  sorrow  plead ; 

And  keep  us  from  the  wicked  one, 
When  ourselves  we  cannot  heed. 


Eav'ning,    he    prowls    Thy    fold 
around 

In  his  watchful  circuitings ; 
Father !  this  night  let  us  be  found 

Under  the  shadow  of  Thy  wings. 

O  I  when  shall  that  Thy  Day  have 

come. 

Day  ne'er  sinking  to  the  west. 

That  country  and  that  holy  home. 

Where  no  foe  shall  break  our 

rest  ? 

Now  to  the  Father  and  the  Son 
We  our  feeble  voice  would  raise, 

With  Holy  Spirit,  joined  in  one. 
And   from  age   to  age    would 
praise. 

The  simple  music  to  which  it 
has  always  been  sung  (written  by 
the  Rev.  D.  E.  Lyman)  is  append- 
ed to  this  note.    I  am  indebted 


1846-64.]       LIFE  AND  WORK  AT  ST.  JAMES'S.        351 

is  proper  to  mention  that  tlie  compulsory  attendance  of  the 
boys  upon  the  full  daily  service  of  morning  and  evening 
prayer  was  adopted  in  deference  to  the  wishes  and  advice  of 
Bishop  Whittingham,  and  was  not  in  accordance  with  Dr. 
Kerfoot's  judgment.  Many  of  the  older  members  of  the 
household,  teachers  and  boys,  learned  to  like  these  daily 
services  and  to  find  them  profitable.  Others  undoubtedly 
were  wearied  by  them,  and  many  found  it  in  summer  an 
irksome  task  to  go  to  the  chapel  between  eight  and  nine 
o'clock  in  the  evening,  and  there,  in  the  sweltering  heat  and 
amid  swarms  of  insects,  to  try  to  keep  awake  while  the  full 
order  of  evening  prayer  was  said.  The  idea  of  detaining  the 
boys  at  school  during  the  Christmas  season,  in  order  that  they 
might  be  trained  to  keep  the  great  festival  religiously  and 
properly,  was,  it  must  be  allowed,  a  thorough,  practical 
mistake,  not,  indeed,  originated  by  Dr.  Kerfoot,  but  simply 
one  of  many  fanciful  notions  which  sprung  up  from  the 
fervor  and  romantic  sentiment  created  by  the  Oxford  move- 
ment in  the  first  twenty  years  of  its  progress.  In  depreca- 
tion of  harsh  or  inexperienced  criticism  of  the  religious 
system  at  St.  James's,  it  must  be  remembered  what  grave 
responsibilities  rest  upon  the  pastor  and  governor  of  a  large 
community  of  boys.    The  consequences  of  mistakes  are  so 

to  my  friend,  J.  C.  Knox,  Esq.,  |  Sunday  evenings),  for  barraoniz- 
orgauist  of  St.  Paul's  School  j  ing  it  and  putting  it  in  shape  for 
(where  the  hymn  is  still  sung  on    |    publication.— H.  H.] 


''NOW  THE  DAT  IS  PAST  ANJJ  GONE.'' 


352  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.  [Chap.  XII. 


serious,  the  results  of  ueglect  so  irreparable,  so  much  of  the 
future  happiness  and  welfare  of  a  boy  may  depend  upon  the 
advice  and  guidance  given  him,  so  strong  is  the  impress  made 
upon  character  by  the  regulations  and  customs  of  a  school, 
that  the  temptation  to  do  too  much  is  very  powerful.  What 
man  witli  a  keen  sense  of  his  duty  and  responsibility,  and  with 
a  sufficient  experience  and  knowledge  of  the  world,  can  face  a 
great  company  of  youths  without  an  almost  overpowering 
desire  to  win  them  to  tlie  love  and  practice  of  goodness  by 
any  and  all  means  ?  The  choice  seems  to  some  persons  to  lie 
only  between  doing  too  much  and  doing  too  little,  and, 
naturally,  a  loving,  anxious  heart  Avill  prompt  to  the  former 
course.  Judged  by  results,  which,  after  all,  are  the  best 
practical  test,  the  religious  system  of  St.  James's  can  be 
defended  with  as  much  confidence  as  any  other ;  and,  as  it  was 
neither  mechanically  nor  artificially  administered,  but  was 
characterized  by  evident  sincerity  and  heartiness,  it  was  a 
most  important  factor  in  determining  the  tone  and  standard 
which  prevailed. 
Roll  call oti  Xew  I  must  describe,  before  leaving  these  topics  on  which  my 
Tear' f  Ere.  memory  loves  to  linger,  two  particular  religious  customs 
which  I  have  heard  old  Jacobites  always  recall  with  warm 
and  often  enthusiastic  language.  On  New  Year's  eve,  at 
nine  o'clock,  we  assembled  in  the  chapel,  and  the  roll  of  all 
who  had  at  any  time  been  either  instructors  or  pupils  was 
read  by  the  Rector.  As  various  names  were  called,  informa- 
tion was  given  about  them,  extracts  from  letters  were  read, 
and  if  any  had  died  or  had  been  sick  or  in  trouble,  loving 
words  were  spoken;  and  then,  after  singing  the  hymn,  "As 
o'er  the  past  my  memory  strays,"  an  earnest  and  appropriate 
prayer  for  both  the  absent  and  present  was  said.  One 
powerful  effect  of  this  simple  service  was  to  weld  and  knit 
together  into  a  kind  of  continuous  life  all  who  had  ever  been 
at  the  College.  Old  boys,  after  they  had  left  the  place,  would, 
as  New  Year's  came  round,  recall,  and  often  with  much 
feeling,  this  reading  of  the  roll,  and  the  memory  of  this 
custom  would  keep  strong  and  lively  their  attachments  to 


1846-64.]        LIFE  AND  WORK  AT  ST.  JAMES'S.        353 

their  schoolfellows  and  instructors,  and  renew  their  interest 
in  St.  James's. 

Holy  Week  was  observed  with  peculiar  care  and  reverence.  Manner  of 
There  were  many  services  and  much  religious  instruction. 'j^-^';^'"^^''^^ 
Yet,  strange  to  say,  the  boys  were  not  only  greatly  impressed 
by  the  novel  arrangements  of  time  and  work,  but  also 
actually  liked  the  customs  and  solemnities  by  which  this  week 
was  marked.  It  was  announced  on  Palm  Sunday  that  no  secu- 
lar instrumental  or  vocal  music  would  be  permitted  until  Easter. 
As  far  as  possible,  the  subjects  of  the  lessons  in  school  were 
changed  to  accord  with  the  commemorations  of  the  season. 
Several  of  the  studies  were  altogether  omitted.  Caesar  and 
Virgil  and  Xenophon  were  laid  aside,  and  we  were  required 
to  commit  to  memory  Latin  versions  of  the  Creeds,  Te  Deum, 
Pater  Noster,  ancient  hymns  and  collects.  We  read  selec- 
tions from  the  Greek  Testament,  and  did  some  appropriate 
memoriter  exercises  in  Greek.  In  place  of  algebra  and 
geometry,  we  had  instructions  concerning  the  history  and  uses 
of  the  calendar,  which  interested  us  very  much,  besides 
afl'ording  a  pleasant  relief  by  the  substitution  of  a  light  exercise 
for  hard  studies.  Our  English,  History  and  Erench  recita- 
tions were  omitted  during  this  week.  The  ordinary  morning 
divisions  of  time  were  unaltered.  At  noons  the  Litany  of 
the  Passion  was  said,  except  on  Wednesdays  and  Fridays, 
when  the  Litany  in  the  Prayer-Book  was  used.  Each  of 
these  services  was  commenced  by  singing,  while  kneeling, 
the  first  three  verses  of  the  Litany  hymn — a  custom  very  un- 
common in  this  country  in  those  days.  In  the  afternoon, 
about  half-past  four,  we  were  called  to  our  places  in  the 
study-halls  and  rooms,  and  after  a  few  quiet  minutes,  in 
which  we  made  ready  and  got  cooled  and  rested  from  om- 
sports,  we  went  to  the  chapel.  The  ante -communion  service 
was  said,  the  Gospel  always  being  read  by  the  Rector,  most 
instructively  and  yet  simply,  and  then  a  short  discourse  on 
some  of  the  events  of  Holy  Week  was  delivered  from  before 
the  altar.  From  the  chapel  we  went  to  a  large  hall,  and 
lectures  were  given  on  such  topics  as  the  Holy  City  and  the 
localities  spoken  of  in  the  accounts  of  our  Lord's  Passion, 


354  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.  [Chap.  XII. 

the  prophecies  of  Daniel,  the  siege  and  destruction  of 
Jerusalem,  the  false  Christs,  the  history  of  sacrifice,  and  so 
on.  We  were  required  to  take  notes  and  write  out  abstracts 
of  these  lectures.  My  remembrance  of  them  is  that  they 
were  really  interesting.  The  subjects,  although  with  one  or 
two  exceptions  not  apparently  attractive  to  boys,  were 
treated  historically  and  illustrated  with  quaint  anecdotes  and 
extracts  from  old  writers,  and  sometimes,  I  fear,  with  state- 
ments which  would  not  stand  the  probing  of  present  criticism. 
Supper  came  at  the  usual  time,  and  directly  after,  evening 
prayer  was  said.  Attendance  at  this  time,  as  also  at  noons, 
was  voluntary.  At  nine  o'clock  the  whole  household 
assembled  in  the  chapel  for  a  short  service  ending  the  day. 
This  was  conducted  by  Dr.  Kerfoot.  A  passage  was  read 
from  the  book  of  Revelation,  and  my  imagination  was  always 
kindled  and  thrilled  by  the  contrast  between  the  descriptions 
by  St.  John  of  the  Lamb's  life  in  the  glory  of  heaven,  and 
the  accounts  which  we  had  heard  a  little  before  of  the  agony 
and  humiliation  of  the  Saviour's  last  hours  on  earth.  The 
reading  was  followed  by  a  few  verses  from  the  51st  Psalm, 
sung  by  the  congregation  kneeling.  The  Creed,  versicles  and 
two  or  three  collects  concluded  the  service,  which  lasted 
about  ten  minutes.  Then,  as  no  sitting  up  for  study  was 
allowed  during  that  week,  all  went  to  their  dormitories  or 
rooms,  and  a  great  quiet  prevailed. 

On  Thursday  night  the  Holy  Communion  was  celebrated  at 
half-past  nine — a  custom  which  never  seemed  to  me  natural. 
On  Good  Friday  the  Sunday  order  was  strictly  observed, 
except  that  the  day  was  ended  by  a  voluntary  service  of  in- 
tercession for  the  Jews.  Saturday  noon  concluded  these 
special  observances.  The  number  of  services  we  were 
obliged  to  attend  in  Holy  Week  was  twenty-two,  and  the 
number  of  voluntary  ones  was  twelve.  There  were  many 
boys  who  attended  every  service  willingl}^  and  the  week, 
although  the  requirements  were  so  laborious  and  restrictive, 
was  universally  marked  by  excellent  order  and  good  feeling, 
and  a  solemnity  and  quiet  prevailed  through  these  holy  days 


1846-64.]       LIFE  AND  WORK  AT  ST.  JA3IES'S.        355 

which  seem  to  me,  as  I  look  back  upon  the  time,  very- 
remarkable  and  impressive. 

The  strongest  proofs  of  Dr.  Kerfoot's  capacity  to  govern, 
and  of  his  power  to  acquire  the  confidence  of  young  persons, 
were  aftorded  during  the  Civil  War.  On  the  occasion  of  the 
burning  of  Kemp  Hall,  one  of  the  largest  and  most  necessary  JByr»ing  of 
of  the  College  buildings,  in  the  winter  of  1857,  he  had  shown 
devoted  courage  in  risking  his  life  for  his  pupils,  and  also 
superior  administrative  skill  in  keeping  the  boys  together  and 
at  work  in  spite  of  this  serious  disaster,  and  by  providing 
from  very  scant  funds  the  accommodations  requisite  to 
replace  partially  those  which  had  been  destroyed.    But  H-yQ  Problem  of  car- 

^  I-  J  ■J  rying  on  SI. 

dangers    and    difficulties    of   the  period  of   the  Civil  War  James's  ciurtTig 

^  J    1  -p.     p  J.     ^  ■  c       ■    ■       the  Civil  War. 

demanded  a  rare  gut  or  control,  a  genume  power  oi  gammg 
the  aftection  and  confidence  of  high-spirited  boys  and  young 
men,  a  courageous  and  self-possessed  soul,  full  of  resources, 
and  ready  for  any  emergencies.  I  do  not  think  any  of  us  at 
St.  James's,  except  Dr.  Kerfoot,  realized,  when  the  Southern 
States  began  to  secede,  how  serious  was  the  problem  of 
maintaining  a  school  and  college,  in  time  of  war,  on  the 
frontier  between  the  two  contending  parties.  Dr.  Kerfoot 
himself  and  most  of  his  coadjutors  were  strongly  convinced 
of  the  righteousness  of  the  cause  of  the  Government,  and 
warmly  wished  for  its  success.  Their  pupils,  naturally  and 
rightly  espousing  tlie  sentiments  of  their  parents  and  kinsfolk, 
were  enthusiastic  cliampions  of  the  Confederacy.  The  youug 
are  always  more  outspoken  and  unrestrained  than  the  old. 
They  are  but  little  afl^"ected  by  those  prudent  considerations 
which  compel  older  people  to  mask  or  check  the  expression 
of  their  real  feelings.  When  a  youth's  enthusiasms,  resent- 
ments and  sympathies  are  justified  and  encouraged  by  the 
opinion  and  example  of  his  home  and  community,  they  are 
wont  to  blaze  up  and  burst  forth  with  almost  ungovernable 
fervor.  The  Civil  War  caused  unappeasable  animosities 
between  life-long  friends,  irreparable  breaches  between 
members  of  the  same  family,  and  yoked  together  in  amity 
and  concord  the  most  divergent  characters.  Even  peace 
could  only  slowly  extract  the  bitterness  of  the  long  and  angry 


356  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.  [Chap.  XII. 

separations,  and  had  no  magical  power  to  obliterate  com- 
pletely the  deep  impressions  of  injury  and  wrong  stamped 
upon  the  memory  by  the  hard  and  cruel  necessities  of  a  pro- 
Biffimityofihe  tracted  and  destructive  war.    Reflection  will  show  how  diffi- 
•pon  im.  ^^2^  -j.  ^^g  jp^j,  ^^^^  espousing  openly  one  side  in  the  conflict 

to  live  in  intimate  relations  under  the  same  roof  with  fifty  or 
sixty  youths  devoted  to  the  opposite  side,  whose  fathers 
sometimes,  or  whose  brothers  and  other  kinsmen,  were 
engaged  in  the  fierce  struggle  and  risking  their  lives  and 
fortunes  in  behalf  of  what  they  thought  a  righteous  cause. 
It  required  deep  conviction  of  the  importance  and  value  of 
the  work,  a  high  and  self-sacrificing  conception  of  duty, 
to  induce  Dr.  Kerfoot  to  resolve  to  remain  where  he 
was,  and  to  preserve,  if  possible,  for  better  times  the 
institution  which  had  grown  up  under  his  care.  He 
realized  much  sooner  than  any  one  associated  with  him 
the  grave  responsibility  he  was  undertaking.  The  rest 
of  us,  while  excited  and  disturbed  by  the  progress  of  the 
secession  movement  during  the  winter  of  1860  and  1861,  yet 
shared  in  the  hope,  then  so  fondly  indulged  in  by  many,  that 
a  compromise  would  somehow  be  reached  and  a  reunion 
brought  about  by  peaceful  means.  It  did  not  seem  possible 
that  people  who  were  so  closely  united  as  those  of  the  North 
and  the  South,  and  who  had  so  long  lived  together  as  brethren, 
could  ever  become  mortal  enemies,  and  seek  to  settle  their 
quarrel  by  the  bloodshed  and  misery  of  war.  It  was  not 
^p??/ 19, 186!. until  the  outbreak  at  Baltimore  and  the  destruction  of  the 
Armory  Works  at  Harper's  Ferry,  only  sixteen  miles  distant 
from  St.  James's,  that  we  began  to  see  that  we  were,  under 
any  circumstances,  in  a  most  difficult  position,  and  that  the 
question  whether  it  was  our  duty  to  abandon  the  work  or  try 
to  go  on  with  it  was  a  very  open  one  indeed. 
Dr.  Kerfoot's  final  decision  for  himself  and  his  reasons  for  it 

Jieanons  fw  . 

attanpting  to  go  were  communicated  to  me  durmg  an  evening  walk  shortly  be- 

workat  St.        fore  the  battle  of  Bull  Run.   He  began  by  asking  if  I  had  made 

Jmnes  s.  ^^^  pj^j^  ^^^  ^j^^  f^^;^^.g^  and  if  I  would  be  willing  to  cast  in  my 

lot  with  his,  and  to  stay  where  we  were  and  go  on  with  the 

work.    Without  waiting  for  a  I'eply,  he  went  on  to  say  that  at 


1846-64.]      LIFE  AND  WORK  AT  ST.  JAMES'S.         357 

first  the  difficulties  of  the  position  had  seemed  insurmountable. 
We  were  situated  in  the  pathway  of  invasions  from  both 
sides,  and,  contrary  to  all  previous  anticipations,  were  living 
in  a  portion  of  the  country  liable  to  be  disturbed  and  insecure 
throughout  the  whole  course  of  the  war.  A  cloud  of  unknown 
dangers  and  anxieties  hovered  over  us.  It  was  a  paramount 
duty  not  only  to  secure  the  safety  and  health  of  those  youths 
who  might  be  entrusted  to  his  care,  but  also  to  be  reasonably 
certain  that  their  training  and  education  could  be  successfully 
carried  on.  Then  he  must  think  of  his  wife  and  children, 
dearer  to  him  than  life,  whose  happiness  and  protection  had 
the  highest  claim  on  him.  But,  thank  God!  they  were  of  one 
mind  with  him,  and  looked  at  duty  as  he  did.  Besides,  he  felt 
bound  to  ask  himself  whether  he  could  maintain  his  control 
over  boys  who,  although  too  young  to  serve  in  the  field,  had 
the  will  to  fight  and  die  for  the  South  ?  Was  it  possible  to  have 
an  orderly,  industrious  and  peaceable  school  amidst  the  varied 
scenes  of  excitement  and  disturbance  which  were  about  us, 
and  of  which  we  had  had  some  significant  examples  already  ? 
Would  these  young  fellows  continue  to  respect  and  obey  the 
guidance  of  men  from  whom  they  were  so  widely  separated 
by  the  fact  that  while  they  were  for  the  South,  their  teachers 
were  against  them  ?  The  financial  question  was  the  most 
perplexing  of  all.  Large  sums  of  money  were  due  on  the 
last  year's  bills,  which  could  not  now  be  collected  until  the 
war  was  over,  even  if  they  could  be  partially  recovered  then. 
The  number  of  students  would,  of  course,  be  greatly  reduced, 
and  the  income  of  the  ensuing  year  would  be  so  precarious 
that  he  did  not  dare  to  make  any  promises  or  ofler  any 
salaries.  These  were  the  ditficulties,  stated  calmly,  without 
exaggeration  and  without  inclusion  of  fancies.  He  had 
therefore  had  the  gravest  doubts  as  to  the  possibility,  expe- 
diency or  usefulness  of  undertaking  to  keep  St.  James's  alive 
during  these  unhappy  times.  The  future  had  seemed  very 
dark  and  unpromising,  and  the  path  of  duty  almost  too  much 
obscured  for  recognition.  He  had  no  fears  but  that  he  and  all 
the  stall'  of  instructors  could  obtain  honorable  positions  else- 
where, away  from  the  seat  of  war.    As  far  as  his  or  our 


358  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.  [Chap.  XII. 

temporal  interests  were  concerned,  we  should  all  gain  in  ease 
and  comfort  by  closing  the  College.  The  reasons  for  this 
course,  if  we  adopted  it,  were  sufficiently  evident  and 
pressing  to  justify  our  conduct  in  the  minds  of  reasonable 
men.  "  And  yet,"  he  continued,  "  I  cannot  bring  myself  to 
take  the  steps  which  would  close  St.  James's  now,  and  per- 
haps forever.  At  this  place  I  have  spent  twenty  happy 
years  of  my  life,  and  my  heart  is  bound  to  it  by  sorrows  as  well 
as  by  joys,  by  disappointment  as  well  as  by  success.  Hitherto 
I  have  been  wonderfully  blessed  and  favored  in  this  work. 
Just  think  what  small  means  we  have  had  from  the  first ; 
how  much  suspicion  and  opposition  were  encountered  when 
we  began  ;  what  disasters  from  fire  and  sickness  have  come 
upon  us.  Yet  to-day,  were  it  not  for  the  breaking  out  of  this 
war,  the  College  would  be  in  a  better  position  than  ever 
before  ;  it  is  more  widely  known  and  appreciated,  is  gaining 
the  confidence  and  friendship  of  influential  men  to  a  greater 
degree,  and  the  results  of  its  training,  religious  teaching  and 
discipline  are  nearer  to  a  high  standard  than  they  ever 
have  been  before."  I  give  very  nearly  Dr.  Kerfoot's 
words. 
Eesokes  to  (JO  on  He  went  on  to  state  that  the  students,  in  spite  of  the 
commotions  of  the  time,  had  been  affectionate,  orderly 
and  under  control.  This  work  had  been  undertaken  and,  he 
honestly  believed,  had  been  carried  on  for  Christ  and  His 
Church.  He  had  taken  it  up  at  the  call  of  the  chief  pastor  of 
Maryland.  He  thought  that  he  could  claim,  without  undue 
self-assertion,  that  he  had  devoted  to  it  unreservedly  his 
powers  of  mind  and  body,  and  had  made  all  his  interests  sub- 
servient to  its  welfare.  He  had  been  animated  and  sustained 
by  the  assurance  of  his  conscience  that  he  had  not  sought 
wealth  or  eminence,  but  had  wished  to  serve  God  in  founding 
an  institution  which  should  strengthen  and  extend  the  Church 
and  promote  the  advancement  of  sound  learning  and  piety. 
Would  it  be  right,  because  a  season  of  adversity  had  come,  to 
abandon  a  work  to  which  God  had  called  him,  and  in  which 
he  had  been  abundantly  blessed?  When  he  weighed  the 
dangers  from  the  movements  of  armies  in  the  neighborhood. 


1846-64.]       LIFE  AND  WORK  AT  ST.  JAMES'S.        359 

he  did  not  see  but  that  with  prudence  and  care  we  could  get 
along ;  and  the  worst  that  could  befall  would  be  our  breaking 
up  at  a  later  period,  and  at  least  with  the  satisfaction  of 
having  made  a  good  tight  to  hold  on.  The  boys,  he  thought, 
would  be  governable ;  for  those  who  should  be  sent  to  us 
would  come  knowing  what  the  situation  was,  and  by  forbear- 
ance andavoidance  of  discussions  the  occasions  of  quarrel  might 
be  kept  out.  The  contingency  to  be  dreaded  was  that  if  a 
Southern  army  should  invade  or  occupy  that  part  of  Maryland, 
some  of  the  older  students  would  be  irresistibl}'  tempted  to 
enlist,  and  all  he  could  now  say  was  that  he  should  use  his 
influence  and  authority  to  the  utmost  to  prevent  their  doing 
so.  As  to  the  finances,  he  did  not  despair.  We  had  reason 
to  hope  that  some  help  would  be  given  by  Northern  friends, 
perhaps  suflicient  to  keep  us  alive  for  a  larger  and  better 
work  when  peace  came.  No  voice  which  seemed  certainly  to 
come  from  heaven  had  as  yet  said  unmistakably  :  "  Go  :  your 
work  here  is  done."  On  the  contrary,  reflection,  heart  and 
conscience  united  in  saying :  "  Stay ;  show  your  faith  in  Him 
who  has  led  you  thus  far,  and  trust  the  issue  to  Him."  "I 
have  resolved,  therefore,"  he  said,  "  to  go  on  with  the  College 
as  long  as  it  is  possible,  and,  unless  we  are  forced  to  abandon 
it,  I  shall  remain  with  the  few  or  many  who  may  gather  here 
until  order  and  quiet  are  restored. 

"Now,  what  will  you  do?  Will  you  stay  with  me?" 
"Suppose,"  I  asked,  "that  the  South  succeeds  and  that 
Maryland  joins  the  Confederacy.  What  ought  we  to  do 
then?  "  "If  that  time  comes,"  he  answered,  "God  will  tell 
us  what  to  do,  if  He  finds  us  ready  to  hear  and  obey  Him 
now.  Sufficient  unto  the  day  is  the  evil  thereof."  Then,  as 
we  stood  together  in  the  shadow  which  a  great  tree  cast  into 
the  moonlight,  he  clasped  my  hand  and  prayed  with  most 
touching  simplicity  and  earnestness  that  God  would  give  us 
light,  and  make  His  way  plain  before  our  face  and  fill  us  with 
strength  to  do  His  will ;  aud  since  His  love  had  brought  us 
thus  far  on  our  way  safely,  therefore  would  we  put  our  trust 
under  the  shadow  of  His  wings,  and  dare  to  take  the  dark 
and  unknown  road  before  us.     "Let  Thy  loving-kindness 


36Q  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.         [Chap.  XII. 

lighten  upon  us,  O  Lord!  even  because  Thy  servants  put 

then-  trust  in  Thee."     With  these  words  he  ended. 

Noble  character     It  does  not  seem  too  mucli  to  say  that  this  resolve  of  Dr.  Ker- 

of  Dr  Ker- 

foovs'recoive.    foot's  was  the  index  of  a  reraarliably  noble  character.     The 

motives  and  the  qualities  that  enabled  him  in  a  small  field  to 
submit  to  sacrifices  which  few  persons  ever  willingly  make,  risk 
dangers  affecting  health  and  reputation,  and  persist,  notwith- 
standing daily  varied  and  increasing  difficulties  and  discourage- 
ments, in  seeking  to  accomplish  the  task  set  before  him,  were  of 
the  sort  which  often  conduct  such  men  as  are  favored  by  oppor- 
tunity to  great  eminence  in  the  State.  Three  toilsome, 
anxious,  heartbreaking  years  were  spent  in  the  efl'ort  to  pre- 
serve and  maintain  for  future  usefulness  the  work  at  St. 
James's.  There  was  no  iclat  to  be  derived  from  this  struggle, 
for,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  old  and  tried  friends,  such  as 
Bishop  Whittingham,  Mr.  William  G.  Harrison  and  Dr. 
Shattuck,  nobody  cared  much  about  the  fate  of  a  small 
Church  college  and  school  in  the  north  of  Maryland.  What 
interest  could  even  kind  and  generous  men  have  in  the 
fortunes  of  a  few  gentlemen  engaged  in  teaching  fifty  boys  on 
the  frontier,  while  the  momentous  issues  and  events  of  the 
Civil  War  absorbed  all  hearts  ?  Dr.  Kerfoot  did  not  feel  that 
we  had  any  strong  claim  on  people's  sympathy,  although  he 
craved  it,  and  valued  highly  any  words  of  encouragement 
or  tokens  of  interest  which  reached  him.  It  soon  became 
apparent  that  we  must  rely  on  ourselves  and  not  count  upon 
help  from  outside.  No  public  appeal  for  aid  was  ever  made, 
and  with  one  solitary  exception,  about  to  be  mentioned,  no 
contributions  towards  the  maintenance  of  St.  James's  during 
Generms  aid  the  war  were  received.  In  the  summer  of  1863  Mr.  Israel  D. 
{(U.Vf^w"'  Condit,  of  New  Jersey,  made,  through  Bishop  Whittingham, 
Jersey.  ^  gjfj.  ^f  ^^qq^     rpj^jg  generous  act  of  a  stranger  was  warmly 

appreciated,  not  only  because  the  pecuniary  needs  and  em- 
barrassments were  pressing,  but  chiefly  because  it  was  the 
evidence  of  sympathy  and  regard. 

There  were  no  invasions  or  raids  in  our  vicinity  during  the 
session  of  1861-62,  and  although  now  and  then  Uttle  out- 
bursts of  feeling  or  temper  showed  what   deep  fires  were 


1846-64.]        LIFE  AND  VrORK  AT  ST.  JAMES' S.       361 

buraing  in  many  a  man's  and  boy's  breast,  still  we  lived  in 
comparative  quiet,  and  the  school  duties  were  regularly  per- 
formed. But  after  McClellan's  failure  before  Richmond,  tlie 
Shenandoah  Valley,  near  the  mouth  of  which  St.  James's 
was  situated,  became  the  theatre  of  Confederate  activity,  and 
at  this  time  began  that  series  of  alarms  and  experiences 
of  war's  hoiTors  which  lasted  until  Sheridan  took  command 
of  the  Government  forces,  and  from  a  state  of  demorali- 
zation and  disorder  brought  the  army  back  to  an  honorable 
pride  and  confidence,  and  led  it  to  successive  victories. 
During  the  vacation  of  1862  occurred  the  battle  of  Antietam. 
The  thickest  part  of  the  fight  took  place  within  six  miles  of 
St.  James's,  and  for  nearly  two  months  after,  a  division  of 
cavalry  and  an  army  corps  were  encamped  on  fields  about 
the  College.  Several  officers,  with  their  wives,  lived  as  guests 
■within  the  buildings  for  some  weeks. 

When  we  reassembled  for  our  second  year's  efl'ort  there  Thehavieof 
was  much  to  talk  about,  much  to  see.  A  great  battle  had  ;sepi.*^i7,  fges. 
been  fought  hard  by  our  doors,  and  thenceforward  that  region 
would  have  an  undying  name  in  history.  Two  large  field 
hospitals,  full  of  sick  and  wounded,  were  only  a  few  miles 
distant  from  us,  and  the  wreck  and  devastation  of  the  terrible 
conflict  were  still  visible.  It  was  not  a  long  drive  to  Bum- 
side's  bridge,  the  Dunker  meeting-house,  McClellan's  head- 
quarters, and  the  height  from  which  Lee  watched  the  fight. 
We  were  placed  amidst  very  exciting  scenes  and  surroundings, 
but  in  spite  of  all  anxieties  and  distractions  we  speedily 
settled  down  to  the  accustomed  routine  and  order.  When,  in 
the  late  fall,  the  march  to  Fredericksburg  began,  we  were  for 
a  season  left  in  quiet,  and  were  only  disturbed  occasionally 
by  the  wild  rumors  which  were  flying  about,  or  by  the 
threatening  exploits  of  Stonewall  Jackson.  Dr.  Kerfoot  was  Hwjtiuawork. 
unwearied  in  his  visitations  to  the  hospitals,  and  his  sympathy 
was  so  true,  his  piety  and  good  sense  so  genuine,  that  the 
sick  and  wounded  soldiers  were  glad  to  see  his  face,  and 
many  a  poor,  dying  fellow  learned  from  him  to  seek  his 
Saviour's  love  and  pardon,  and  was  comforted  and  calmed  by 
his  wise  and  tender  ministry.     Nor  did  he  omit  to  look  after 


362  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.  [Chap.  XII. 

the  bodily  comforts  and  relief  of  the  sick.  I  recollect  liis 
advising  me  to  stuff  my  pockets  with  packs  of  chewing- 
tobacco  when  I  was  about  to  visit  one  of  the  hospitals, 
"because,"  he  said,  "many  of  those  poor  fellows  are 
longing  for  the  familiar  quid,  and  there  is  no  way  of  showing 
your  wish  to  do  something  to  relieve  their  hard  lot  so 
effectual  as  giving  them  tobacco."  He  was  at  pains  to  procure 
Testaments  and  a  few  suitable  religious  books  for  distribution 
when  he  found  opportunity.  But  he  also  delighted  in  carry- 
ing to  the  hospitals  any  needed  delicacy  or  comfort  which  he 
was  able  to  obtain,  and  he  dispensed  his  gifts,  under  the 
direction  of  the  physicians  or  nurses,  without  distinction  of 
persons.  The  drain  upon  his  means,  his  time,  his  sympathies, 
which  these  constant  hospital  visits  caused  must  have  been 
very  great ;  and  while  he  was  answering  thus  fully  the  appeals 
to  his  pity  and  sympathy  by  receiving  the  dying  confessions 
of  the  contrite,  by  transmitting  to  their  homes  the  last  tender 
messages  of  those  who  had  learned  the  comfort  which  he 
could  give,  by  healing  and  soothing  the  remorse  of  one  and 
aiding  the  faith  of  another,  he  was  at  the  same  time  dis- 
charging all  his  duties  as  Eector,  maintaining  a  large  cor- 
respondence, and,  as  pastor  and  ruler  of  the  little  community, 
fuiniling  manifold  offices  of  friendship  and  love  to  pupils  and 
neighbors,  to  all  who  sought  his  counsel  or  help.  It  must  be 
borne  in  mind  that  he  was  intensely  devoted  to  the  restora- 
sirong^Urdon  iion  of  the  Union— not  fanatically  or  irrationally,  not  to  the 
man.  extent  of  having  a  cruel  zeal  against  his  opponents  or  [of 

becoming  forgetful   of  the  laws  of   Christian  charity,  but 
certainly  giving  his  sympathies  and  his  influence  to  the  cause 
of  the  Government  with  an  undivided  choice  and  conviction. 
And  the   open  and  frank  avowal  of  his  opinions  on  the 
burning  questions  of  tlie  day,  although  never  made  offen- 
sively or  intemperately,  added  other  grievous  burdens  to  his 
load  in  the  inevitable  alienations  which  followed. 
We  began  our  second  session  during  the  war  with  new 
iifypes  and  dis-  hopefulness  and  fresh  courage.    The  great  Union  army,  which 
appointments,  j.^y  stretched  along  the  Potomac,  resting  and  reorganizing 
through  the  brilliant,  rainless  fall,  had  at  Antietam  regained 


1846-64.]        LIFE  AND  WORK  AT  ST.  JAMES'S.        363 

its  confidence.  Now,  made  strong  by  re-equipment  and  re- 
inforcements, it  was  eagerly  looking  forward  to  contests  in 
which  it  should  win  decisive  victory  and  wipe  out  the  humili- 
ation and  reproach  of  Pope's  lucl^less  campaign.  The  spirit 
and  expectation  of  this  army  spread  out  from  it  in  wide 
circles  of  influence,  and  penetrated  to  our  I'ctreat,  and  for  a 
time  we  fondly  hoped  that  the  Confederates  had  been  driven 
from  our  region  to  come  bacli  no  more,  and  that  henceforth 
all  military  movements  would  be  carried  on  far  away  from 
Maryland.  These  were  sliort-lived  delusions,  and  the  dis- 
astrous assault  of  Fredericksburg  dispelled  at  once  the  hope 
of  any  speedy  termination  of  the  war.  The  anxious  winter,  iJec.Vi,  1862. 
with  its  wearing  suspense,  had  few  solaces  or  encourage- 
ments, and  when  its  sad,  cold  days  were  ended  spring  brought 
no  relief,  and  the  terrible  fight  at  Chancellors ville  was  the 
prelude  to  summer.  There  were  continual  skirmislies  in  the  -^prU,  1863 
Shenandoah  Valley  during  these  months.  The  Confederates 
made  many  briUiantand  sudden  attacks  on  the  Union  posts,  aitmioft/te 
and  in  most  cases  won  easy  victories  and  abundant  spoils  ^*'""^'^' 
through  the  bad  management  or  incompetence  of  the  generals 
opposed  to  them.  The  excitements  and  alarms  were  inces- 
sant. Several  times  we  heard  the  boom  of  cannon  announcing 
skirmishing  going  on  across  tlie  river  at  places  only  ten  or 
twenty  miles  distant.  On  one  occasion,  after  an  engagement, 
the  Government  troops  in  tlie  valley  fled,  as  if  seized  with  a 
panic,  from  almost  all  their  positions,  and  crossed  the 
Potomac  at  various  fords  along  a  distance  of  forty  miles. 
The  poor,  terrified  darkies,  who  were  the  aimnt-coxu-icrs  of 
this  rout,  and  finally  the  fugitives  themselves,  filled  the  country 
with  exaggerated  and  frightful  stories  of  the  fierce  and  ruthless 
temper  of  the  Confederate  cavalry,  and  of  the  slaughter  from 
which  they  had  escaped.  And  altliough,  when  we  heard  the 
wild,  incoherent  talk  of  a  trembling  negro,  or  the  noisy, 
boastful  accounts  of  a  cowardly  and  demoralized  soldier, 
calm  reflection  pointed  out  that  their  narratives  were  in  the 
main  preposterous  and  incredible,  yet  the  ferment  was  so 
general,  and  the  voices  humming  and  buzzing  danger  around 
us  were  so  numerous  and  so  incessant,  that  it  was  impossible 


3G4  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.  [Chap.  XII. 

not  to  be  disturbed  a  great  deal,  and  not  to  enter  upon  each 
new  day  as  into  an  unknown  land  reputed  to  abound  with  all 
sorts  of  perils  and  horrors. 
Lee'sinvasitmof  The  summer,  which  in  that  part  of  the  world  generally 
Pennsylvania.  ^^p^j.g  loygiy  ^^d  luxuriant  moods,  came  on  as  usual,  and  the 
hills  and  valleys  about  us  teemed  with  rich  crops.  I  never 
knew  Nature  to  put  on  a  more  charming  garb  than  during 
the  long,  hot  days  in  which  Lee's  army,  well  furnished  and 
equipped,  triumphant,  confident  and  buoyant  with  hope,  enter- 
ing Maryland  by  three  different  roads,  silently  and  steadily 
pursued  its  march  into  Pennsylvania.  When  reliable  news 
came  that  a  large  body  of  Confederate  troops  was  encamped 
only  nine  miles  off'.  Dr.  Kerfoot  sent  away  at  once  such 
students  as  had  homes  in  the  North ;  but  those  who  belonged 
to  Baltimore  were  detained  a  day  or  two  longer,  owing  to 
some  misunderstanding  about  the  arrangements  for  their 
departure.  As  soon  as  it  was  reported  that  the  advanced 
corps  of  the  Confederate  army  had  passed  into  Pennsylvania, 
and  had  left  only  a  few  picket  guards  and  cavalry  parties  to 
keep  up  communication  with  Virginia,  the  attempt  was  made 
The  students  iQ   conduct  the  remainder  of  the  boys   to  Frederick.    Dr. 

sent  to  their  „  .  ,      ,  tt         •    i  ^        -ii 

hemes.  Kerfoot  and  myself  went  with  the  party.  He  might,  with 
perfect  propriety,  have  deputed  the  duty  to  me,  but  he  had 
that  high  sense  of  responsibility  and  that  temper  of  aff"ection- 
ate  devotion  to  his  friends  which  made  him  unwilling  to  lay 
the  whole  burden  of  a  difficult  and  dangerous  duty  on  a 
single  pair  of  shoulders  as  long  as  he  had  strength  and  power 
to  take  part  himself. 

We  started  in  stages  in  the  early  morning,  and  at  first 
our  progress  was  undisturbed,  but  after  we  emerged  from 
a  country  road  and  had  proceeded  a  short  distance  upon 
the  Frederick  turnpike,  we  were  brought  to  a  halt  by  a 
cavalry  picket  and  ordered  to  turn  back.  The  men,  who 
were  rather  rough  in  looks  and  manner,  took  Dr.  Kerfoot 
into  the  woods  to  their  officer.  The  rest  of  us  awaited 
his  return  with  great  anxiety.  But  his  tact,  good-humor 
and  evident  truthfulness  finally  obtained  permission  for  us 
to    pass    through   the    lines,   although    properly  we    ought 


1846-64.]        LIFE  AND  WORK  AT  ST.  JAMES'S.       365 

to  have  had  a  safe-conduct  from  Gen.  Ewell,  whose  head- 
quarters were  then  at  Hagerstown.  As  we  drew  near 
Frederick  we  met  a  large  party  of  Union  cavalry  out  recon- 
noitering,  but  they  only  detained  us  for  a  short  time,  and 
chielly  for  the  purpose  of  getting  information  which  we  were 
unable  to  give.  At  Frederick  we  learned  of  the  movements 
of  the  Union  forces  made  for  the  purpose  of  repelling  Lee's 
invasion.  The  two  contending  armies  Avere  advancing 
towards  Gettysburg,  Pennsylvania,  on  opposite  sides  of 
South  Mountain.  A  new  general,  Meade,  had  been  ap- 
pointed to  take  the  place  of  Hooker,  and  the  imminence  of 
the  danger  had  stirred  up  throughout  the  !North  an  almost 
frenzied  eflbrt  at  resistance. 

After  seeing  the  boys  safely  embarked  on  the  train  for 
Baltimore,  we  returned  that  same  evening  to  our  homes. 
The  whole  country  through  which  we  passed  was  aflame 
with  expectation  and  excitement.  A  party  of  Union  scouts 
overhauled  us  sliortly  after  we  started,  being  suspicious 
of  our  purpose  in  traveling  towards  the  Confederate  lines, 
but  they  were  soon  convinced  that  we  were  not  spies  and 
had  no  designs  of  injuring  anybody,  and  then  they  let  us 
go.  At  dusk,  as  we  were  about  to  enter  Boonsboro,  eight 
miles  from  St.  James's,  a  Confederate  picket  halted  us 
until  the  corporal  should  come  to  make  inquiries.  The  men 
were  good-natured  young  fellows,  and  when  we  offered  them 
part  of  our  lunch  they  declined,  saying,  "  Why,  we  are  fed 
now  better  than  the  Yanks  are  "  ;  and  their  looks  substanti- 
ated the  assertion.  By-and-by  the  corporal  appeared,  and 
after  a  few  questions  let  us  pass  into  the  village.  Tlie  streets 
were  swarming  with  Confederate  soldiers,  well-behaved  and 
in  first-class  condition.  As  we  drove  through  the  main 
thoroughfare  we  came  upon  two  long  lines  of  men  drawn  up 
facing  each  other,  singing  a  hymn,  and  apparently  engaged  in 
some  sort  of  service.  When  we  had  once  more  got  into  tlie 
country  we  were  again  stopped  by  a  picket;  but,  as  our 
journe}'  was  to  be  within  the  Confederate  lines,  and  as  our 
residence  was  only  a  few  miles  distant,  they  allowed  us  to  go 
on.    Not  far  from  midnight,  while  we  were  driving  through  a 


?M  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.  [Chap.  XII. 

wood,  a  man  skulked  out  from  beliiud  the  trees  and,  running 
up  to  us,  asked  excitedly  :  "  What's  the  news?  For  God's 
sake,  tell  me  what's  going  on  !  "  For  the  moment  we  could 
not  make  out  whether  he  was  crazy  or  intended  violence,  his 
manner  was  so  strange  and  distracted.  But  when  he  came 
near  enough  to  be  recognized,  we  saw  that  he  was  one  of  our 
excited  Union  neighbors  who  was  simply  unmanned  by  his 
fears.  It  was  with  thankful  hearts  that  we  alighted  at  the 
College  steps,  and  ended  in  safety  our  journey. 
Southern  arniij  For  three  days  after  our  return  the  passage  of  the  Southern 
^land'f^  ■^'"^"  army  went  on  ;  but  their  progress  was  so  quiet  and  orderly 
that,  although  one  of  the  principal  roads  on  which  they  were 
moving  was  only  two  miles  distant,  and  another  only  four 
miles  away,  yet  the  usual  stillness  prevailed.  Only,  late  at 
night,  the  rumble  of  the  long  trains  of  ammunition  and 
baggage  wagons  over  the  stony  turnpikes  became  audible. 
All  the  innumerable  different  sounds  seemed  at  that  time  to 
be  mingled  into  one  sound,  producing  an  impression  unlike 
that  of  any  other  sound  that  I  have  heard.  Small  parties  of 
cavalry  would  now  and  then  ride  through  the  grounds ;  a  few 
stragglers  would  come  to  the  kitchen  and  ask  for  a  drink  ; 
old  Jacobites  would  take  a  hurried  run  from  the  column  and 
call  to  see  us,  cordial  and  kindly,  in  spite  of  the  wide 
difference  between  us,  like  brave  soldiers  and  gentlemen  ; 
speaking  with  enthusiastic  fervor  of  their  leader,  and  with 
youthful  hope  and  confidence  concerning  the  issues  of  the 
present  campaign.  Without  exception,  the  greetings  and 
bearing  of  these  young  officers  and  soldiers  towards  Dr. 
Kerfoot  were  most  respectful  and  affectionate,  and  it  was 
delightful  to  see  them,  almost  on  the  very  eve  of  battle,  re- 
viving the  memories  of  their  past  intercourse  with  him  and 
rejoicing  to  grasp  his  hand  once  more. 

Finally  we  heard  that  Gen.  Lee  and  his  staff  had  gone 
through  Maryland.  Then  for  a  brief  space  of  time  there  was 
uneasy,  wistful  and  trying  suspense.  It  was  very  difficult  to 
get  trustworthy  news.  The  rumors  in  circulation  had  conflicting 
characters  according  to  the  political  opinions  of  the  narrators, 
and  the  newspapers  only  got  to  us  by  chance.    On  the  fourth 


1846-64.]        LIFE  AND  WORK  AT  ST.  JAMES'S.       367 

of  July  we  all  knew  that  a  great  battle  had  been  in  progress  Battle  of  Get- 
at  Gettysburg.  There  were  contradictory  reports  as  to  the  '^**"'"^- 
result  of  the  conflict,  and  for  a  few  hours  we  did  not  know 
wliether  Lee  or  Meade  had  won  the  victory.  At  length  we 
learned  that  Lee  had  really  been  defeated,  and  almost  imme- 
diately the  Confederates  began  to  arrive  on  their  retreat.  In 
all  this  trying  time,  and  during  the  eventful  days  in  which  the 
Southern  army  lay  in  front  of  Williamsport  waiting  for  the 
swollen  Potomac  to  subside,  the  College  buildings  being 
the  centre  of  their  outer  line  of  defense,  Dr.  Kerfoot  was  the 
strong  spirit  to  whom  all  his  friends  and  associates  resorted, 
and  on  whom  they  all  leaned.  His  own  inward  forebodings, 
anxieties  and  sorrows  he  kept  deep  in  his  breast.  To  us  he 
always  appeared  cheerful,  never  desponding,  ready  for  all 
emergencies,  clear-headed  and  courageous,  and  his  heart 
seemed  big  enough  to  carry  the  cares  and  troubles  of  every- 
body. The  safety  and  protection  of  all  who  in  any  sense 
were  under  his  leadership  or  care  were  never  put  aside  by 
selfish  considerations  of  his  own  ease  and  security.  He  was 
as  fearless  as  a  brave  soldier,  and  far  less  careful  of  himself 
than  of  his  friends. 

A  month  after  the  battle  of  Gettysburg  no  further  molesta-  Eeymved  fjTori 

,.         »  .  1  1    Ti  T  ^11  to  continue  the 

tion  from  armies  seemed  probable,  and  we  gathered  up  new  college. 
courage.  Although  disappointed  by  the  prolongation  of  the 
war  and  by  the  difficulty  of  getting  sufficient  money  for  the 
bare  maintenance  of  the  enterprise,  we  resolved  to  continue 
the  eflbrt  which  thus  far  had  not  been  in  vain.  But,  alas ! 
the  curse  of  bad  generalship  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley  sorely 
troubled  us  also,  and  our  last  year  was  as  anxious  and  trying 
a  period  as  any  that  preceded.  We  could  scarcely  help 
desponding  often,  and  sometimes  asking :  "  How  long  can 
we  hold  out?  "  Perhaps  the  strain  from  anxious  care  was  at 
last  overtaxing  the  strength  to  resist  it.  Constant  uncer- 
tainty will  corrode  the  most  cheerful  and  elastic  spirits.  No 
serious  trouble  overtook  us  until  the  very  end,  but  during 
those  last  months  at  St.  James's  we  learned  by  experience 
that  hope  too  long  deferred  maketh  the  heart  sick,  and  that 


368  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.  [Chap.  XII. 

the  perpetual  expectation  of  unknown  dangers  overtaxes  self- 
control  and  weakens  vivacity  and  confidence. 

We  reached  the  summer  of  18G4  without  calamity  or  serious 
peril,  although  there  were  many  alarming  incidents.  The 
routine  of  work  and  order  had  been  successfully  carried  on 
throughout  the  College  session.  There  had  been  no  dis- 
astrous collisions  with  the  students,  but,  on  the  contrary, 
good  feeling  and  kind  and  affectionate  relations  prevailed  in  a 
year  when  the  divisions  caused  by  the  war  were  more  intense 
and  bitter  than  ever.  Difficult  as  the  task  still  was,  heavy 
and  disheartening  and  almost  insoluble  as  was  the  problem 
of  providing  means  of  support,  yet  I  think  that  Dr.  Kerfoot 
wished  and  intended  to  renew  his  attempt  once  more.  None 
but  the  most  imperative  and  irresistible  reasons  compelled 
him  at  last  to  abandon  a  work  to  which  he  had  always  been 
devotedly  attached,  and  which  was  now  doubly,  rather  many 
times,  endeared  to  him  by  the  sacrifices  and  struggles  of  the 
past  three  years.  The  close  of  tlie  session  drew  nigh,  and 
rumors  of  another  invasion  began  to  spread.  Suddenly  there 
came  a  daring  raid,  conducted  by  Gen.  Early,  into  the  part  of 
Early's  raids.  Maryland  lying  below  us.  As  soon  as  it  could  be  done  safely 
the  students  were  dismissed  and  sent  to  their  homes.  A 
period  of  partial  quiet  followed,  and  then  came  a  second  raid 
of  Early,  the  purpose  of  which  was  to  retaliate  upon  the 
North  some  of  the  woes  inflicted  by  the  Union  armies  on  the 
South.  Chambersburg,  only  twenty  miles  from  us,  was 
burned.  Contributions  were  levied  upon  Frederick  and 
i^eifoofand'  Hagerstown,  and  finally  Dr.  Kerfoot  and  others  were  arrested 
otiiers.  as  hostages  for  Southern  clergymen  and  gentlemen  who, 

although  non-combatants,  had  been  sent  to  military  prisons 
in  the  North.  It  is  a  notable  proof  of  Dr.  Kerfoot's  direct, 
personal  influence  that  Gen.  Early,  after  making  the  arrest, 
treated  him  with  marked  courtesy,  and  justified  his  own 
action  in  a  long  and  dignified  explanation.  The  soldiers  and 
officers  who  were  placed  over  him  as  guards  were  won  over  by 
his  manly  and  Christian  bearing,  and  showed  that  pity  and 
respect  in  every  kindly  service  and  attention  consistent  with 
their  duty.    Dr.  Kerfoot  and  myself  were  released  by  Gen. 


1846-64.]      LIFE  AND  WORK  AT  ST.  JAMES'S.        369 

Early,  after  a  night's  detention  as  close  prisoners  of  war,  on  a 
conditional  parole  limited  to  twenty-one  days.  We  were  able 
to  fulfil  our  engagements  to  Gen.  Early  before  the  parole 
expired,  and  then  were  honombly  discharged. 

But  the  eftort  to  go  on  with  St.  James's  after  this  last  ex-  Final  dosing  of 
perience  seemed  impracticable.  Those  few  who  had  hitherto  ''  "'"**  *" 
stood  by  as  staunch  friends  and  supporters  of  the  undertalcing 
now  said:  "Stop.  You  must  wait  until  the  war  is  over." 
The  voice  from  heaven,  which  had  not  been  heard  before 
bidding  us  give  up  this  work  so  dear  and  so  promising,  and 
even  let  it  die,  if  that  result  must  follow,  now  seemed  to 
speak  unmistakably.  We  parted  in  Washington  immediately 
after  our  release,  never  to  revisit  St.  James's  together  again, 
never  to  renew  that  intercourse  and  converse  which,  while 
they  lasted,  were  my  most  choice  blessings,  and  the  memories 
of  which  have  been  ever  since  among  my  dearest  and  most 
precious  possessions.  Dr.  Kerfoot's  letters  to  me  at  this 
time  are  too  affectionate  and  personal  to  admit  of  quotation, 
but  they  bear  witness  to  the  grievous  sorrow  which  the  breaking  attachvmii  to 
up  of  St.  James's  caused  him.  His  heart  clung  to  that  spot '^^' ''""***'*• 
where,  for  so  many  years,  he  had  served  God  and  had  done  good 
work  for  the  Church  and  for  youth.  That  cluster  of  buildings, 
those  lovely  scenes  which  environed  them,  were  dearer  to 
him  than  new  stations  or  dignities,  no  matter  how  honorable 
or  suitable  they  might  be.  Change  of  home  and  occupation, 
new  faces  and  new  duties,  an  ever-widening  circle  of  ac- 
quaintances and  interests,  multifarious  work  crowding  upon 
his  leisure  and  engrossing  hi»  activity,  came  in  quick  suc- 
cession to  engage  his  thoughts.  But  he  was  never  so  busy 
or  preoccupied  as  to  forget  his  old  St.  James's  life,  or  the 
relations  of  friendship  and  affection  established  there.  The 
slightest  allusion  in  letter  or  conversation  to  that  vanished 
past  would  open  the  door  to  the  chambers  of  his  heart,  and 
disclose  the  undying  memories  which  filled  it,  and  his  warm 
and  constant  love  and  regard  for  those  to  whom  he  had 
become  attached  during  the  years  spent  in  Maryland.  He 
remained  my  most  faithful,  affectionate  friend  to  the  end  of 
his  days.    If  at  any  time  during  his  life  I  had  come  into 


370  LIFE  OF  BISHOP  KERFOOT.        [Chap.  XII. 

trouble,  grief  or  loss,  and  had  needed  his  S3mipathy,  counsel 
or  help,  I  should  have  turned  with  the  utmost  confidence  to 
him,  sure  of  his  understanding  me,  doing  me  justice,  and 
sparing  no  effort  in  his  power  to  aid  and  comfort  me. 
Flam  for  St.  "Dear  St.  James's,"  he  could  well  say.  The  expression 
James's.  ^^  ^as,  lips  was  the  summing  up  of  twenty-three  years  of  his 
life,  the  name  under  which  gathered  a  long  procession  of 
joys  and  sorrows,  a  myriad  of  tender  recollections  of  those 
whom  he  had  trained  and  loved,  an  honorable  history  of 
laborious  and  successful  work  for  God  and  men.  At  St. 
James's  Bishop  Kerfoot  spent  the  flower  of  his  years.  If  his 
hopes  and  plans  with  regard  to  it  had  ever  been  realized, 
there  would  be  now  in  Maryland  a  group  of  noble,  stately 
buildings,  surrounded  by  lovely  scenery  and  an  ample  domain, 
and  thronged  with  students.  There,  under  the  sacred  au- 
spices of  the  Catholic  faith  and  worship,  the  best  fruits  of 
learning,  the  finest  appliances  and  means  of  education,  would 
be  employed  in  training  youth  for  faithful  service  of  God  and 
their  country.  But  alas !  the  heart  and  brain  which  cherished 
these  projects  will  never  witness  their  fulfilment.  He  sleeps  ; 
but  he  has  left  to  us  the  precious  memory  of  his  good  deeds, 
and  of  a  truly  noble  and  beautiful  character.  The  place 
which  he  loved  so  well,  to  which  he  devoted  his  best  powers 
and  most  vigorous  years,  still  waits  for  that  large  and  gener- 
ous heart  which,  appreciating  the  work  done  in  the  past, 
resolves,  out  of  the  abundance  God  has  given,  to  re-establish 
on  surer  foundation,  and  with  such  extension  as  shall  enlarge 
its  usefulness  and  influence,  the  old  Maryland  school. 


m^. 


^•?i!^'-i:-<-. 


i^S^f:  '"^-y  <'i '  ^'  -5-:  -, ; 


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Jsa_!*-i '^''i^v •■;'■•<-■-'■"'•  v-v      -'-■''     i 


w.'^i^ 


